Deductions
by SmallShadowyBirds
Summary: "I don't tell anyone what I really think. Please understand, I can't be saved, alright?" Shirazakura Yuki is deductive, odd and weak. Taking on a emotionless manner as to what she is feeling, everyone does something like this. She had always been alone, simply spending her days alone, reading about the outside world. Then she entered Rakuzan High School. OCxAkashi.
1. You Don't Feel Like You're Alive

**Deductions**

**Chapter One: You Don't Feel Like You're Alive**

* * *

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

After hearing this statement from the emotionless transfer student standing in front of the blackboard, Rakuzan High School's junior class sank into silence, but the reactions that everyone showed were not the same.

Most of the students could not understand the meaning to her words. They were enthralled by her regal bearing, as well as the natural charisma that drew them to her. Like a deer in a car's headlights, they stared, dumbstruck. Furthermore, there were a lot of boys who were mesmerized by her demeanor, and as a result, were not able to hear what she just said.

However, Akashi Seijuro's reaction was totally different from his classmates'. Without acknowledgement, but somewhat bemused by the person in front of him, Akashi's heterochromatic eyes observed the carefree transfer student standing beside the table.

She looked just like a doll. Unbelievably white skin, thin limbs, sleek hair flowing. Her face bore the detached coldness of porcelain. Pale, nearly transparent hazel eyes, ambiguous in whether they belonged to an adult or a child, glimmered with alertness. It was a girl who tied her black hair into a single ponytail. Her skin was as smooth as silk. At this moment, the girl took the white chalk at the blackboard and wrote her name.

"Shirazakura Yuki." Akashi repeated this name over and over in his head. While he could have sworn he heard that name previously, he couldn't recall where.

After Akashi finished contemplating, the moment he looked back to the front. Shirazakura Yuki was using her eyes to stare at Akashi, though only for the slightest moment. At this point, Shirazakura surveyed the classroom while taking in dumbstruck glances.

"I hope I will get along with everyone in the future." After finishing, she slightly bowed. While no one but Akashi speculated her, the classroom gave a resounding applause.

Perhaps noticing that Shirazakura did not wish to continue, the teacher clapped his hands to indicate that it was the end of the introduction. "Well then Shirazakura-san, would you please sit in that empty seat over there?" As the teacher said that, he also raised a single finger.

"Ah, right, due to the recent transfer you're still not used to the school. It's fine even if it's after school but someone should take Shirazakura-san around the school grounds."

"Yes, that's true." She said in agreement.

"Then, I can't think of anyone better than Akashi-san." He said, gesturing to the red head.

It was troublesome. He had practice after school, and did not have any need to show a new student around campus. However, he had no right to refuse, and using an extracurricular would be a poor excuse. Especially as a member of the Student Council. So, he simply nodded his head.

"I'm in your care, Akashi-san." Shirazakura nodded, and under the eyes of the stunned classmates, started to walk towards her designated seat with light footsteps.

* * *

Even though she said nothing shocking during her introduction, Shirazakura was currently subjected to a situation where she was being surrounded by a sea of people and questions, several that concerned her personal relationships, and several that she ignored.

While working on an assigned class project in groups, it was very annoying. Even Akashi could tell that the girl didn't prefer all the attention.

"Everyone, you're overwhelming her with all these questions you're asking." He interrupted, and everyone, not wanting to disobey Akashi's order, all left.

"Oh… that's odd." She said, still staring at him.

"What is it?"

"Odd that you can speak. Probably because you don't feel like you're alive." The girl said, with unchanging emotion.

Akashi was stunned, just as the others had been, but only for a few moments. "Don't indulge yourself in nonsense."

She didn't reply after that.

"I'm Seijuro Akashi." He introduced himself on a personal level.

"…Akashi, you say. I'm Shirazakura Yuki."

His first impression of the girl was not commendatory. He found the girl having no absolving qualities.

Reacting to his actions, Shirazakura glanced his way. Her expression was inscrutable, but not hostile.

"If I have unknowingly given you cause to be malicious, I would like to apologize. I'll try to be careful not to upset you in the future." His voice bore no note of hostility or resentment, but a smirk played at the corner of his mouth.

"What makes you believe that I was acting that way?" She asked.

"Possibly because of the way you act towards me. I shall let you off this time, however," at this moment, his calm, composed demeanor changed to be much more threatening. "No one who opposes me is allowed to look down on me. Know your place."

She didn't show any sign of fear, nor did she say a word to him after that. Retaining her expressionless gaze, she went back to work as though she hadn't heard him.

This girl truly had a personality differing from the others.

* * *

The result of Akashi's observations of Shirazakura was organized at lunchtime. However, there were still too many mysteries concerning her that he wasn't able to solve. As Akashi was waiting, his shoulder was poked a few times by someone.

"Akashi-san, Akashi-san. Sorry, did I disturb you?" The girl standing there—Shirazakura said with an apologetic look.

"Ah, Yuki." After Akashi said that, Shirazakura continued while not showing any actions.

"Can you bring me around the school? I'll be in your care."

Before he had time to agree, Shirazakura started to walk towards the corridor with light footsteps.

"Well then, where should we start looking?" She, who was waiting not far away from the classroom, inclined her head and asked.

"Right, well then, shall we go to the cafeteria and office to have a look first? It'd be necessary in the future."

"I don't mind." When Akashi finished, Shirazakura lightly nodded.

"Well then, let's go."

The two of them walked down the corridor with leisurely footsteps. At this point, the students who were returning home, shot glances over.

Wah—who's that girl, so cute. A transfer student? Isn't next to her Akashi-kun? What's going on? It looks like the teacher personally wanted him to show her around the school. Whoa! She doesn't look scared at all… The 'Generation of Miracles' Captain, Akashi Seijuro… he's really above us, isn't he? He's amazing.

Whatever you people say. Ignoring the words of the people, Akashi began accelerating his footsteps. Due to being conscious of the surrounding stares as well as the dislike of walking with someone during his personal time, he had left Shirazakura by herself.

"How careless…" While muttering, he peeked in her direction. There, he saw Shirazakura was using her eyes to gaze straight at Akashi.

Naturally, their eyes met. In that instant, she tilted her head as if asking if something was wrong. It was as if she was waiting for Akashi to look at her direction this whole time.

As they were about to turn at the T-section, he realized the girl was going the opposite direction. He reached out his hand and grabbed hers, directing her to the other end.

"It's this way." He said.

"Is that right? Oh, yes. I mentally switched the map over in my mind." It then dawned on Akashi.

"…Hold. You're saying that you knew all along where everything was?" Shirazakura nodded. "And you didn't bother to tell the teacher."

"He didn't ask, and simply assumed I had no idea where anything was." She completed.

_How did this happen,_ He thought, sighing over his wasted time. Turning his head to look, Shirazakura who was having her hand held looked downwards, turning her face to one side.

"As expected... I'm troubling you, aren't I?"

"No, it's nothing of the sort." With Akashi's words, Shirazakura relaxed her shoulders.

"Sure enough, Akashi-san really is different." Ending her sentence, she looked straight at him.

Before their small staring contest could begin, he turned away, leading the way through the hallways once again.

It was silent. Neither were willing to strike a conversation, and the two continued on. When they stopped, they were not at the cafeteria, but instead in front of two large doors.

"The gym?" The girl asked.

"Yes. I'm surprised you followed me all the way here, though. Since you already know your way around the school, there's no need for me to show you around, is there?" He asked.

"Maybe not. But I also should know about the students' view on each." She said.

"…I see. Perhaps I shall show you sometime. But as for now, I have basketball practice to attend to." He said, taking a few steps towards the large gym.

"You play basketball?" She asked him.

She didn't know him. She had no idea who he was. She probably wasn't aware of the 'Generations of Miracles' title, either. And that was why she was so casual? No, he still had an intimidating aura. Everything made somewhat more sense, with those few words.

"Yes, I do. I'm the Captain of Rakuzan's team."

"Captain… ah, maybe this concerns the rumors surrounding you? Something about fear and miracles. Those two words don't go well together, so I'm going to guess it's fear from being so good. And you're a miracle? ... I don't really believe in miracles myself."

"I see you're quick at understanding things, but you're only half-right. The 'Generation of Miracles' was a title given to Teiko's Middle School Basketball team, consisting of five—alternatively, I could say six—prodigies. I was one."

"Mm… I don't know a lot about basketball."

"I see. Well, have a good day." Not heeding her last sentence, he turned his back to her, but before he could fully leave, she spoke once more.

"About earlier… what I said wasn't an insult. I don't mind things that seem dead as much as things that seem alive."

These words confused him to an extent. Not heeding to her speech much, Akashi walked inside the gym.

* * *

"Akashi. It's unlike you to be late." The coach greeted him with these words when he came in.

"My apologies. I had to—"

"Akashi-san was showing me around the school, asked by our teacher." The gazes of the others turned to the owner of the soft voice behind him.

"Ah, that's right. You're Shirazakura Yuki." The coach said. "I teach World History at the school. I'm also Rakuzan Basketball Team's Coach."

"It's my pleasure to meet you, Shirogane-sensei." She bowed her head in respect. "It was nice meeting all of you today, but I must be going. Thank you for showing me around the school, Akashi-san. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, I shall." His words hid if he was optimistic or pessimistic about that fact. Giving a small bow of her head, Shirazakura turned and left.

There was a bit of a pause, but practice retained back to normal before anyone could question Akashi about the girl or such of the sort.

* * *

While practice wasn't as tiresome as usual, everyone was relieved when it was over. They all had filed into the change rooms and prepared their belongings to leave.

"So, Akashi's in the same class as the new girl." Eikichi summarized after Akashi had finished the bare minimum run-down of what had happened.

"That girl was really interesting, wasn't she?" Rakuzan's Shooting Guard, pointed out.

"What makes you say that?" Akashi asked.

"Mm, I'm not too sure, actually. Maybe it's the way she acts? The way she acts? Or the atmosphere around her?"

Akashi was, for the first time in a while, in a very special situation. Not only, for one, was it not evident to see what the girl was thinking, but there was still so much he didn't know about the girl.

"Yep. Ah, could it be that Sei-chan has also taken an interest, hmm~?" Mibuchi's words weren't quite teasing, but definitely had included the sort. Nonetheless, this had most, if not all the boys that were in the room to glance their way only momentarily.

"I suppose I can agree with you where she's different… but I must disagree with the other statements. She's intelligent, and only talks when she needs to, but spouts nonsensical things. In other words, she is none of my concern. I only showed her around the school because it was forced; not of my own likings."

"So, do you think she's interesting, or ordinary?"

"Most likely. She's my classmate, and it's probable I have to work with her in the future. As I said before, she's none of my concern. She isn't interesting to the point I would favor her."

* * *

**omg this took me for-ev-ahhhh. it's a relief to see it finally done, though.**

**this is my first-ever-for-real fanfiction! i love the whole KnB series, and I love the story in general overall. (not to mention I'm in love with half of the members. Ahem.)**

**Ahh, and yuki's based off of victorique from gosick.**

**i don't have much for this A/N, so i'll be seeing you in the next installment!**

**SSB, away!**


	2. Even More Amazing Than Amazing

**Deductions**

**Chapter Two: Even More Amazing Than Amazing**

* * *

The next day, the usual sound of the bell vibrated in Akashi's eardrums. The hands of the clock showed the time for morning homeroom to start. The classmates who were chatting everywhere hustled each other to return to their seats. In the middle of the chaos, Akashi, who had returned to his seat beforehand looked around the room. Even though the bell had already rung, Yuki still had yet to appear in the classroom. Late on the second day of her transfer.

As the classroom door opened with a slide, the teacher entered the classroom with his hands holding the attendance booklet. Afterwards, he gave the call to greet. Although he was very concerned about Shirazakura, he could not ignore the call. Akashi and the class sat down after the greeting.

"Okay, good morning everyone, now let's start with the attendance." Saying that, the teacher opened the booklet and started to read out the names of the students.

"Shirazakura-san." He read out Yuki's surname. However, there was no response. "Shirazakura-san isn't here? Really now, if she was going to be absent she should have called to inform us beforehand." He turned the page of the attendance booklet.

At that instant.

"Here." At the back of the classroom, a familiar voice sounded. Looking back, Akashi's eyes widened. That's right, the classroom back door had silently opened, standing right there was Shirazakura with a stare and her hand slightly raised.

"Really now, Shirazakura-san. You're late."

"I'm really sorry. I wasn't feeling well on my way to school."

"Eh? Are you alright? Do you want to go to the infirmary...?"

"No, it's alright now. I've made you worry." Shirazakura gave a bow, walking towards her seat with light footsteps.

* * *

"Alright, then that's all regarding communication issues." Not long after, the teacher ended the class and left the room.

"You're not very punctual today, Yuki." Akashi said.

"I know. I had to do some things at home."

Though he was about to press further, he decided against it. "I see. Well, I'm glad to see that you're not absent."

"Are you keeping an eye on me? You don't need to worry. I'm not all that interesting." She finished, continuing to leave the room to get something from the cafeteria, or so he assumed. However, when she was walking through the class, she turned at the opposite intersection.

It wasn't of his concern. He told Reo that yesterday. The individual wasn't someone he needed to get involved with. Yet, even when he thought that, he also considered that he might have to deal with her in the future, so it would have been best to learn more about her. It wasn't that he really wanted to spend time with the nonsense speaker. That was what he told himself, but before he knew it, he had fallen into the habit of trailing the girl all the way to the library, in the opposite direction of the lunchroom. Going inside the room, the girl was sitting down silently in the hollow room.

The girl's hazel eyes were rapidly shifting between the books lined up on the floor. The books, which radiated around her in all directions, included books of ancient history, the latest scientific discoveries, mechanics, witchcraft, alchemy… they were also written in various languages, from English and France, to Latin and Chinese. The girl casually skimming these books—Shirazakura—suddenly came back to her surroundings and looked up. Faced with Akashi's look of faint surprised she spoke only briefly. "Oh, it's you. Do you want something from me, now? I suppose you didn't just come for a friendly visit. You're not that kind of person. No rich person is."

He peered at Shirazakura, who was burying her face in her books. "How did you know I was rich? Did you see me?"

"No."

"Then how did you know?"

"The way I always know things." Shirazakura spoke wearily, without lifting her head from he books. "My mind told it to me." Ignoring Akashi who was waiting for her next words, went on casually. "You are a very intuitive, dead, dangerous person and have a strong winner's mentality. A person like you wouldn't enter through the school from an opposite direction unless it was absolutely necessary."

"But as far as being rich goes, for all you know, I could have fairly lived on the other side of the school."

"Yes… but, because of your personality, I can guess that you were raised by someone of high standards, which would most likely be someone very successful in life, not wanting to dishonor the name."

It was extremely peculiar.

"Your responses to my actions have also been unusually calm. It goes without saying that there can only be one reason for such unperturbed behavior—the only conclusion could be that you're more than used to it. This is what my mind has said to me."

He stared, almost resentfully at her profile. "You guessed it. I must commend you somehow. I may have underestimated you."

At first, Shirazakura gave no response, and merely went on reading her books, but after a moment, she nodded. "It's the way I toy with things… to relieve my boredom. When I feel like it, I can even say the process. It's generally too much trouble, so I'd rather just stay silent."

"You sure read a lot of books every day," said Akashi, still undeterred. Shirazakura gave no response other than a slight nod. "Do you intend to read every book in this library?"

He had meant it in jest, but Shirazakura lifted her head and casually pointed to the bookshelf on the right. "I've just about finished reading everything there."

"Yuki… are you looking down on me?" He said, giving a cold stare, that appeared nearly to be a glare.

"No… I'm not. You're just as observant. Everyone lies, everyone hides things. You've probably got… a lot of history on your back. So why would it be unusual for you to be found out, but not you to find out others?"

"I suppose you're right about that. But perhaps… it's become only natural. What are your thoughts on the people attending the basketball starters?"

"I don't have enough information for that."

Akashi chuckled. "Then, how about I introduce you to them after school? I have practice."

"Eh? Is that okay?"

"It's very fine. More so, if things go the way I think they'll go, then you can probably come regularly."

"Well… I might have some time after school today."

"Then I'll see you there."

"Akashi-san, if you make light of other people's emotions. It will surely come back to bite you. I don't think… that's something someone with dead eyes like yours would know."

* * *

There had been several rumors leading up to that person. Rumors of a ghost in the senior's classrooms. Typically, for someone who had been interested in ceasing her boredom, Shirazakura had gone to check it out herself.

She was greeted by two girls at the door, who had most likely stayed behind for afterschool chatter about who liked who at school.

"Uwah! It's the new girl in the first years' who was seen with Akashi!" One girl whispered loudly to the other.

"Seriously? What's she doing here?"

"U-Umm, you're… new here, right? What are you doing here?" The first one grinned at Shirazakura.

"I don't recall there being any rules as to not being allowed to enter the senior's classrooms after school." She replied. "Aside from that, I'm just investigating here. How many people are in the class?"

"Umm…" The second girl started putting up her fingers while averting her eyes, as if counting the students. When three fingers were up, she grit her teeth slightly. "Thirty, I think?"

"I see." Shirazakura turned to face the first desk, pointed at it, and called out, and repeated the process with every one of the desks.

"One, two, three…"

Slightly startled by the girl's eccentric and eerie actions, the two girls quickly left the room. While that, the girl continued counting. However, the number she ended on was not thirty.

"Thirty-one." She said, and pointed to the only desk with a person still sitting in it. She inclined her head while still pointing at him. "Are you a ghost?"

"Are you doing that on purpose?" The boy replied with an exasperated sigh. "You knew I was here the whole time." He received no response, and gently tossed a pencil at her. Catching it, she looked up back at him, slightly confused. "If that pencil's in your hands right now, then I was here the whole time in a class of thirty-one. It really pisses me off, though… now, if you'd excuse me, I have basketball practice." Not elaborating further, he started to leave.

"Ah, please wait for me, ghost-senpai." She called out, following him out the door and into the school's hallway.

"Don't call me that. My name… it's Mayuzumi Chihiro." Mayuzumi said.

"Ah, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mayuzumi-senpai. I'm Shirazakura Yuki. Akashi-san invited me to the boys' basketball practice."

"Akashi did?" This was surprising. "Akashi hardly ever lets anyone come to practice."

"Oh. Is that so? Then he could find me interesting. Or this could be a trap… I don't really understand people like him too well." She shook her head, proving her point while disclosing the case.

* * *

Shirogane was just as surprised as everyone else to see Mayuzumi Chihiro come into practice with a girl. The fact that struck them the most wasn't that, though. The one that did was that Akashi had personally invited her. Even knowing this, none dared to question it, and it didn't appear as though the Coach had a problem with it either.

A shocked silence, in rivalry to what happened when she introduced herself to the class.

"Chihiro? What are you doing with Yuki?" Akashi inquired.

"I was investigating and I came across Mayuzumi-sempai, who told me he was part of the basketball club, so I decided to come here." She bowed. "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding."

"Ah, I see. Well, everyone should get back to practice." With those words, everyone followed Akashi's command as though it were law.

During practice, Shirogane called Akashi out.

"Is this about the incident regarding Shirazakura Yuki?" Akashi asked.

"Why did you invite her?"

"Was there a problem with my decision?"

"No… but, knowing you, transfer student or not, it's special to have you personally invite someone here without a reason."

The corner of Akashi's mouth twitched. "Ask her what she thinks about the others. You'll understand."

Without consent or dismissal after that, he resumed practice.

Following Akashi's suggestion, he turned to Shirazakura, who wasn't even paying attention, and instead on a portable laptop. _Is this girl really anything special?_ Shirogane couldn't help but think that.

"Hello, Shirazakura."

"Hello."

"What do you think of practice so far?" He asked.

"I'm not interested in practice, that much. I only came because Akashi asked me to."

"So you haven't been watching?"

"No, I've been putting a lot of attention on it."

She really didn't seem as though she was of extreme importance. While that remained as a fact in his mind, he also knew that Akashi wouldn't simply invite her for no reason.

"What do you think of the people here?" The Coach asked the girl.

"Huh… Nebuya-sempai eats a lot, which makes me think that he's just a plain glutton… except that if that were true, he would be just fat. Since he exercises, I can guess that he's devoting himself to strength. I know that he's not using it just to lose weight, because he shouts 'muscle' every rebound, dunk, and screen. That means he's proud of them, while someone who wasn't wouldn't care. Hayama-sempai is really good, too… but it looks like he's an attention seeker. Every time he does something correct, he expects praise. He looks around and slouches in disappointment sometimes. I wonder if he has any brothers or sisters. I can't tell, though. Mibuchi-sempai… he's a bit like a girl*. I can't tell what he's good at yet. He's good at everything, but… maybe his talent is foul drawing or shooting while moving backwards**. For Mayuzumi-sempai," She paused for a moment after saying it. "I'm not sure. I lose track of him a lot. He's really good at passing, and he doesn't seem to like being looked down on. When I called him a ghost earlier, he seemed a bit angry… then again… even though ghosts aren't insulting, maybe he sees it differently. As for Akashi… his eyes might look dead, and they catch my attention, but they're very sharp. They look like they can see everything. But when he's playing basketball, they look… even more dead? More alive? I can't tell too well. It's strange."

"How'd you know Nebuya eats a lot? He could eat an average amount." Shirogane claimed, though seriously in awe at the girl sitting in front of him, who was lazily scrolling on her laptop with a teddy bear cursor.

"He has a miso ramen stain on his jacket, he burps, he smells like turkey sandwiches and he has an orange saved for after practice." Shirazakura pointed each detail out accurately. "Not to mention they're all recent."

Shirogane stopped there. He immediately understood. Akashi was yet again correct.

"Shirazakura, what would you say about coming here again some other practices?" Shirogane offered, believing it to be Akashi's intentions. "There is no nameable position for it, but perhaps for just a few practices, for now."

"I'll still have to think about it, but… I don't know if someone like me is necessary. I think Akashi could handle it all by himself. If you still want me, I don't see a problem with it, so… most likely, I'll be able to." She bowed her head in respect.

"Ah. I see. Well… it would be nice to have you here, Shirazakura."

* * *

The only person who stayed after practice was Akashi.

"You're trying hard." Shirazakura commented.

"Ah, Yuki, you're still here?" Not turning to face her, he continued shooting.

"The reason I came here was because you asked me to. To leave before you do would be rude."

"I see." For a while after, he ignored her. After about ten minutes of simply the sound of basketballs stamping on the wooden floorboards, he turned to face her. "What did the coach say to you?"

"He asked me to help with the team."

"And your answer?"

"I said yes about ten minutes ago. Since I'm only helping, I don't have to go to many practices…"

"But it would be difficult to help the others if you only saw them on game days."

"Ah. You're right. I'll come to most practices then." She nodded firmly, and then threw him a towel. "You usually talk with full attention when you're done doing something."

Pausing for a moment, he smirked and wrapped the fabric around his neck. "No praise for any of the members?"

"I'll only praise you specifically if you go beyond what I can think. I believe you're amazing, so you'll have to do something even more amazing than amazing to receive praise."

"You really aren't the common individual I thought you were… don't waste my time or disappoint me, Yuki."

"I'm sorry if I do." She bowed in respect to him.

"Good-bye, Akashi-san." She waved her hand, and started leaving.

"Be seeing you."

* * *

What Akashi thought of Yuki was very intriguing. No—the girl's whole existence was interesting. At the same time, it was very annoying. The most annoying part about her wasn't the nonsense she spouted from time to time, but it was how she was so incredibly perceptive. The fact that she could see through people like it was nothing. Even though he was aware that she couldn't tell what his personality was, the fact she had even gotten that far was ridiculous. People were often afraid of him; much less attempting to figure him out.

However, it was for that very fact that he had taken such an interest to her.

While sitting in a chair, playing a game of shogi by himself, he moved a queen. One thing he knew for sure was—he couldn't leave Yuki to be.

* * *

***no offense intended**

****he only used his 'ten' and 'shi' shots, not his 'kokku' shot. it's impossible to tell his specialty with that little information.**

**don't expect chapters to be finished within day limits! it usually will take a week or so. i'm actually dissatisfied with a lot of parts of this chapter.**

**when i imagine shirazakura yuki's voice, i imagine it to be something like aoi yuuki or ogura yui.**

**no, both of those names have nothing to do with why i named shirazakura yuki the way she is now. you'll find out later.**

**finally, i realize that i didn't put a disclaimer. i, in no way, own kuroko no basuke/kuroko's basketball/the basketball kuroko plays IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM. i noticed that most fanfictions put disclaimers, but i didn't because of my informality with it and... i really just didn't think the viewers would think i'd actually own kuroko no basuke.**

**some characters are so hard to do without making them ooc. especially when you have to read them over fifty-hundred times. especially in the beginning (because love does strange things.)**

**i'll try to update asap, and i love reviews and constructive criticism! even if it's harsh. as long as it's not, "hurr hurr yer story sux lol just like ur grammer" and i'm sitting here, telling myself, "this is why aliens won't visit our planet."**

**(yes, i know it's grammar. i was trying to make a point.)**

**anyway, this is SmallShadowyBirds! hope you enjoyed chapter two! be seeing you all soon!**


	3. Shirazakura Means Deception

**Deductions**

**Chapter Three: Shirazakura Means Deception**

* * *

Mibuchi Reo had been sitting in class before the bell rang. So he stood up, and just as he was about to walk through the door, he felt something bump into his chest. "Hmm...?"

He thought he had bumped into something, but there was nothing in front of his eyes. That was strange. "Hello, Mibuchi-sempai." He heard a very cold voice emanating from somewhere. The strange and calm tone of voice sounded as though it was suppressing and holding back some emotion that was about to explode. Yet he could not tell where the voice came from.

The mood became dark. The shooting guard glanced to the right, there was no one; he glanced to the left, there was no one there as well; apprehensively, he looked upwards. Fortunately, there was no one there either.

"That means — "

So it did come from below. Down, right below his eyes, in a place around Mibuchi's chest, was a head of hair. The first thing he thought was that she resembled a doll. Anyway, she was very small. Her long straight hair softly fluttered and covered the tiny body of the girl.

The girl at practice, wasn't she?

What was it, that the little doll was called?

"Mibuchi-sempai?" This was not an occasion where one could think for a long time, as whatever it was began to lift her chin, and with her eyes…

All she did was stare at Mibuchi with those two large eyes of hers, nothing more.

That was it. Within a few seconds, he had already been struck down by awe. His mind went blank. He was repelled by her stare. For a person whose eyes were no less saddening than someone who was completely normal, he had been completely defeated.

"Ah, I'm so sorry. How rude of me. Are you alright?" He asked politely, bending down to be on somewhat the same level as her. While the team thought Akashi was short, (though chose not to say such, for they feared for their lives) this girl was even smaller than him. At least Akashi measured up to Mibuchi's shoulders.

"I'm fine." She said, fixing the front strands of her hair. "I have something to say from Akashi-san."

This evidently caught his notice. "Oh, really? What's the important information from Sei-chan?"

"He said that tonight would be a study session in the library. Something like keeping everyone's grades up for basketball. I can tell Mayuzumi-sempai, but could you please tell the others?"

"That would be okay with me." He replied, and then paused. "What was your name again?"

"I'm Shirazakura Yuki."

The doll had a name called Shirazakura Yuki. Her height was 145 cm. She and Akashi were what you would call classmates. From the various whispers Mibuchi had heard, it was rumored that she was rich and lived in a mansion with her mother and father.

"Where is Sei-chan right now?"

"He was going to tell you himself, but he had a meeting for the Student Council."

"Ah, I see… well, thank you very much…" not knowing how to address her, he trailed off there. "Why are you at practice more frequently, by the way?"

"I'm helping out the basketball team."

"Ah…?"

"Yes, so I'll be seeing you soon." With those words, she turned to leave.

Shirazakura's footsteps in the corridor became softer and softer.

Mibuchi Reo began to eat his lunch, all the while trying to make sense out of what had just happened.

"I'm no good with these kinds of puzzling things..." Mibuchi muttered and sighed to himself. It would be a few more hours before he could really confirm what had just happened.

* * *

The sun shone with dazzling light, the polar opposite of the weather on the previous day. Akashi prepared for home as he normally did. Once he entered the classroom, he walked directly to his seat, speaking to no one. It was the same way he had acted every end of school day, but he had added one more habit to his routine without realizing it. His eyes slid to the empty seat by the window, and he thought of the enigmatic girl who should have been there, but never was.

A slight smile flitted across his face. _I know who's sitting in that seat. That girl, that mysterious creature—she must be in that library right about now, attending her own kind of school in the middle of that lonely place, with her books spread all around her, enjoying her rendezvous with chaos. Yuki… you really are an original one._ Akashi chuckled, amused at the thought.

The bell rang.

* * *

Several minutes later, he greeted the girl—Yuki—who was in the library.

"Hello, Yuki."

"…" She said nothing in reply, instead keeping her head buried in the book she was reading.

Akashi sat down beside her. "And, thank you for attending practice other day."

"…"

"There's another thing that I kind of wanted to talk to you about."

"…"

"Yuki. Are you listening?" He asked sternly.

Several moments passed with no response. Her doll-like profile conveyed nothing except an imperturbable coldness that rebuffed all interaction. Just as he was about to run out of patience (which would've been quite scary, even for the girl), Yuki finally spoke coolly, without bothering to lift her head from her book.

"I am," she replied, flipping a page in one of her books. "Please… don't get too involved with me."

"What do you mean?"

"It's nothing personal. I just don't like others being involved with me. It's a simple habit…"

"If you try to order me around, I refuse."

Up to that moment, Yuki's eyes had been fixed on her books. But at the sound of Akashi's denial, they widened slightly in surprise. A fresh breeze seemed to breathe the slightest puff of life into her icy expression, piercing through her veil of boredom.

Still continuing to face away from him, Yuki held out one of her hands. She waved her hand at him a few times, saying nothing.

"Ah, did you notice? Perhaps… you want these?" He held out a bag of sweets.

He knew the girl would have to like something, and skipping lunch every day would naturally make one hungry. While solemnly brooding over whether or not this could be considered friendship, he stole a small bag full of snacks from her bag to take with him.

"Do you want it?" He asked playfully, shaking the bag up a few times in a teasing, tempting manner. Yuki, who had been ignoring Akashi this time, suddenly raised her head, retaining her nonchalant appearance. However, Akashi was still able to tell through a glimmer of her eyes that he had gotten it right. Snickering slightly at her actions, he put down the bag. "Even you have your weaknesses, huh."

She set her book on the floor, shoved her hand inside the bag, and began to stuff her mouth full with candy, while grasping the bag greedily like a small animal guarding its food.

"I like apples better." She said, but while did not show any sign of gratefulness, he heard a small mutter of, "Thank you."

"Anyway, Yuki…" Akashi carefully monitored her face as she chewed.

Yuki met his gaze. "Very well. If there's something you want to say, go ahead and tell me."

"There's a study session instead of practice today, because some of the other members need to improve their grades or else be kicked out of extracurriculars. I'm only going to say it once; this is a decent opportunity get to know all the players personally."

Not replying, though making it clear she heard him through her stare, she flipped the page of one of the leather-bound books around her.

"Also, the others will be here shortly." He notified.

"This place is supposed to be a tranquil paradise filled with books, where one can indulge in knowledge and ennui without any intrusion. These past few days have been filled with nothing but you. Be that as it may, I haven't been bored at all. Even so, though my greatest enemy may be tedium, my second greatest enemy is commotion. That would make you my second greatest enemy come to chase away my greatest enemy."

"Being your enemy… maybe that's what I'm aiming for. Did you think of that?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I… didn't."

After that, she got up out of her seat and put all the books that had radiated around her back in their respective places.

"Akashi-san, are you ever afraid of anything?" Yuki asked.

"Of course not. Why would I be? Understandably, everyone has their respective fears, however… I don't share any of it."

"That's… bad to hear."

"Is it?"

"The fact that you're not experiencing fear is proof that your imagination doesn't work… you're in a much worse position than you would be if you were feeling fear." She brushed her hair with her hands, putting back yet another book. "Someone without a functioning imagination… there's no saying what they might do, how they might act…"

"So you say, but you don't ever act scared in the slightest."

"I am. I just don't—" before she got to finish her sentence, it was completed for her.

"Make it obvious."

She paused, confirming he finished it correctly, before continuing. "There's no benefit in my showing fear to the others."

"So you hide it?"

"Unlike you, who doesn't feel it at all… though the fear I'm feeling and the fear everyone else feels are likely of a slightly different variety… they experience fear of 'losing something.' However, I am experiencing fear of 'things already lost.'"

"I don't understand. Why would you fear something already gone? Fearing it won't make it reappear; just leave you with regrets. It's ridiculous."

"You wouldn't; I don't expect you to understand. But, your teammates always have such unhappy faces. You, everyone… Akashi-san, do you think you're the least happy of us all?"

"I'm not sure of what to say to that."

"Have you forgotten even how to feel? Perhaps you can no longer feel that you're unhappy." With the placement of the last book, she turned her back, having not even attempted to clarify, and then she walked off, with a short "bye" over her shoulder.

Right in the middle—or, before they even had the chance to start any meaningful conversation.

* * *

"How could you possibly not understand it by now? It's a simple concept! It's just—you really are hopeless, you know." Mibuchi Reo sighed in exasperation at his teammates, who were struggling to solve the several equations.

"Why isn't Akashi doing any work?" Nebuya Eikichi asked in a small, desperate attempt to have an excuse.

"I've finished already," was the expected answer Akashi gave.

"Ah, right, Sei-chan, there was a—" before Mibuchi could say what there was Akashi held up his index finger.

"…Do you hear that?"

Everyone immediately silenced themselves to try to hear what Akashi was listening to.

"—Nothing." Nebuya said, after a few seconds of listening. He faced back down to his work and groaned.

"Excuse me for a moment." Akashi left, before anyone could complain.

While he meandered through the hallways, being only guided by the sound that he had heard.

It was the sound of a piano. The song that was playing could almost be described as either eerie or sad. Perhaps both. The melody and harmony were both played on high notes, with occasional low or mid ones. The closer he came to the source, the louder it became. With that, the harmony became progressively lower, but the melody stayed at it's normal pitch. Continuing, it played like that for a while.

He traced it to the music room. The only room with a piano.

When he opened the door, the highest and the low notes were played at an elegant and eerie tone. A chaotic sound flooded the room. This noise was the sound of icicles and little sleigh bells mixed into one impacting combination. The sadness of the music was tremendous, and he approached with caution, worried that one wrong step would waver the music. It then settled, and played a few high notes to conclude the song. She then turned her head to him.

Those eyes of hers had never before gazed at Akashi from such close proximity. Guileless curiosity caused them to glitter like jewels. In the midst of experiencing a moment of release from a lifetime of unbearable tedium, her eyes were almost showing emotion. Until moments ago, her body resembled an inanimate doll, with a cold and emotionless face submerged under a sea of ennui and aloofness. But now her entire being came to a sound of regret.

For an instant Akashi felt that he had brushed against the true nature of this girl, who possessed a keen mind that required evaluation of others as sustenance. He sensed something shining deep inside her, buried alongside interminable weariness and deep despair.

But he instinctively felt that he must never let her know what he had discovered. For this extraordinary girl, like a mythical gilt-winged bird, surely kept it as her carefully guarded secret.

Keeping silent, Akashi watched her curiously.

"How long have you been there?"

"Not long at all."

"I… see. Aren't you supposed to be helping the others study?"

"Reo can handle that on his own, but you're correct. I should be heading back. I was just curious as to see who was playing what I heard. I didn't know you could play."

She looked back at the ivory piano. "…Pianos are really nice. They don't make any unnecessary sounds. Living people… are all just megaphones shouting nonsense. Why do you, and everyone else, go along with my selfish wishes?"

He didn't have an answer to give the girl, at first. But he ended up giving her the words: "Maybe it's because I've taken an interest in you."

"I see. You're all oddballs. Even though you seem dead, you've not experienced loss, but you seem as unhappy as them, so you're like the dead. I think I get it."

"You're as nonsensical as ever."

She didn't reply, nor did she have to.

"Would you like to join us? After all, they know nothing about you. Surely they'd like to meet you."

"I have no reason to turn you away… and I don't _feel_ like turning you away… I might even…" her face in deep thought, she turned away and used her delicate hands to sweep away hair that had gotten in her face. The ending of her sentence was inaudible.

"What was that last part?" Akashi asked.

"It's nothing. Let's go, shall we?"

With that, Akashi lead her down the hallway once again.

* * *

When Akashi came in, they immediately noticed the girl beside him.

"Shirazakura-chan?"

"Shirazakura?"

Only Mayuzumi and Mibuchi, who had bothered to remember the girl's name, spoke.

"Shirazakura… ah! You mean the girl at practice!"

"So that was true..." Mibuch muttered to himself, figuring it out.

A group study. Maybe it wasn't too bad, though. She had made eye contact with her emotionless eyes, but after Mibuchi's last comment, neither group said anything.

"I can help you study, if that's okay…" Shirazakura offered.

"Ah, of course. If you'd please. Some of these guys are so hopeless~." Mibuchi said with a sigh, and Akashi and Shirazakura sat down.

After a while, Hayama held up his sheet in utter triumph. "I finished!"

Before he could get too elated, Shirazakura turned the sheet over, revealing a back side to the paper, along with questions harder than the ones on the first page. He sank down in his seat with a groan.

"I'm not familiar with these, or what your teacher specifically wants, but if you substitute this for this, and then divide it all by x… I think." She said, following the procedures.

"Not x. Divide it by y. It's simple—x was subtracted because of the x on the top, and y isn't raised to the power of 0, so you divide it by the y on the bottom." Akashi interrupted.

"Oh… I didn't notice the 0. You're completely right."

"Of course I am." He said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Sei-chan…" Mibuchi said the boy's name with a drop of sweat trickling down his forehead in exasperation; but even with that, respected him.

Shirazakura stared at him, and he stared back, expecting her to say something. After a while of the staring contest, he asked, "Um… Yu-chan, did I do something? You're kinda freaking me out…"

"I'm sorry. It's just… Mibuchi-sempai, why do you talk like a lady*?"

He accepted it as a legitimate question. "'Like a lady'…? Perhaps so… but, hm… I can't quite remember. I just took to it, I suppose. After all, it's preferable to be gentle rather than rough, hm?"

"I… agree, somewhat." She was surprised to hear his answer, but accepted it.

"Shirazakura**. Did you know? In the language of flowers, shirazakura means deception. So I'd much rather call you Yu-chan. Ah, it doesn't mean anything really but if you're offended by that, I can call you whatever right away!"

"'Yu-chan' is okay. I like that better than 'whatever.'"

Since her tone of voice remained the same, the others went back to their papers in front of them, before taking a double-take at her statement and laughed, even just a little bit.

After everyone had finished their homework, they all started to head home, and so ended yet another day.

* * *

***again; no offense was intended**

****shirazakura is spelled 白桜, meaning "white cherry".  
白 is "shiro" meaning white  
桜 is "sakura" meaning cherry.  
Her first name, Yuki, means snow.**

**(there's a kinda-sorta-major-ish spoiler in telling you that, (even not including the meaning of the tree), along with some of the hints in this chapter... if you understand it, PM me, _don't_ write it in the reviews. because that would be bad.)**

**when i was writing the piano scene, the song i was listening to was the game OST "old doll" from mad father, which is what i was generally imagining her to be playing. yuki's appearance is based very roughly off of aya's, and there should be a character based off of maria in very high up chapters, but those are the only references to that, if i recall properly.**

**but the bigger reference/spoiler is to a different story.**

**just so you know.**

******i couldn't imagine akashi liking someone just normal altogether, and instead someone he couldn't evaluate so simply. because all the people in teiko have something original about their personalities. if not that, then their abilities, by far. plus, akashi took an interest in kuroko so i kind of grew the relationship off of that.**

**myrielyzie: i can't pronounce your fanfiction name, in all it's awesomeness. i should be shunned. i ended up pronouncing it as 'mai-ree-el-yeh-zee' thanks for reviewing! if you ever have any questions, i'll answer them. unless it's a spoiler**

**lura elsworth****: thank yoooou! again; couldn't see akashi liking someone normal. **

**whoa. this A/N was long. that's it. i'm done.**

**bye.**

**#SSB**


	4. Isn't That Lonely?

**Deductions**

**Chapter Four: Isn't That Lonely?**

* * *

The Student Council had run into a bit of a troublesome dilemma. One that invoked talk of mystery, horror, and interest. One to cease the normal boredom of attending school every day. Though the others viewed it as a tale more interesting than what the High School was normally like, Akashi found it as a bother. One to distract students from listening to the teachers, and one that wouldn't help the school in the future.

It took place in the music room. In that lonely, darkened, room, the music teacher, Mr. Nikaido, who had run down with an illness and was hospitalized until his condition got better. His belongings evoked the strong, lingering presence of those who had once lived there. And then, every lunch period from that night onward, the harp in that room began to play a peculiar melody.

* * *

He was relaxing alone in class that day, when suddenly he heard the faint sound of music being played invitingly from outside the window. It couldn't have been Shirazakura, either, who changed from the Library to the music room from time to time and would play the piano. This was undoubtedly the sound of a harp.

"Hmm?" Akashi strained to listen, but heard only silence. He resumed eating his lunch. Then the music began to play again.

He took a look at the second-story window of the classroom across the way. The lights were off in the room that had belonged to Mr. Nikaido, and it seemed to be empty. But he definitely heard the sound of…

"A harp."

_So Mr. Nikaido came back?_ was the first conclusion he reached, but then shook his head. _No, I doubt it… but I hear his harp being played. In a dark room?_

He laughed. That sounded like something a ghost would do. But ghosts didn't exist, and Mayuzumi Chihiro didn't know how to play the harp.

Curious, he left his lunch and climbed up the stairs. He wearily knocked on the door of Mr. Nikaido' room, but no one answered. The lights inside were turned off. All he could hear was the faltering melody of the harp. Before long, more people came investigate, and soon a crowd of teachers gathered around, loudly talking amongst themselves. As the harp continued to play, someone walked down to the office and retrieved the key to the room, then handed it to Akashi. He inserted the key into the lock, and opened the door.

"Mr. Nikaido…?" A student called out. There was no answer. The sound of the harp faded away.

"It wasn't in this room, I'm sure of it. Someone must've been playing in another room," one student muttered.

There was no one inside. The crowd of onlookers simultaneously gasped. The strings of the harp were faintly vibrating. As if someone had been sitting next to it and playing only moments ago.

"A—a ghost!" screeched a second-year girl. "The ghost of Mr. Nikaido! His ghost was sitting right here, playing the harp. That must've been him…."

"That's impossible!"

"Everyone loved his performances, so he wanted us to hear him play one last time. Mr. Nikaido! Oh, how tragic! Our kind Mr. Nikaido must no longer be with us!"

"Don't say that!" An uproar surged through the crowd of students.

After he had gotten the situation somewhat more civil, Akashi went to go see the principal to ask for Nikaido's condition.

"He's alive and kicking!" Was the response he got. After bidding farewell, he left.

The new music teacher had walked over to him. "What happened?"

"Well, I talked to the principal just now, about Mr. Nikaido."

"The hospital?" A strange expression passed over the music teacher's face as he repeated Akashi's words.

* * *

The next day, the same incident happened again in the music room. The harp played on in the empty room. When the teachers ran to open the door, they found no one inside. The window was also locked from the inside. A student approached the harp, and pointed at it. "Look, the strings are still quivering," he murmured.

But when they called the hospital, they were told that Mr. Nikaido was getting better by the day.

And the next lunch period, it occurred again…

Causing a great inconvenience for Akashi Seijuro.

When he asked Mibuchi about it…

"Oh~, do you think it could be a ghost? Sounds scary!" Mibuchi had said jokingly. He was to be of no help, either.

* * *

He could not believe his ears. One evening, several days after the harp began playing at night, he visited Shirazakura Yuki.

"What on earth's the matter?" It was the girl, who had uttered not a single word for the past few days to Akashi, because he hadn't had time to visit her at the library and during class, they were not at a distance where they could have a normal chat.

Deep in the shadows, a beautiful doll, wearing a school uniform, sat on the chair in a position that Akashi had grown used to seeing. While Akashi was distracted with other tasks, he wasn't able to properly hear her.

"Did you say something?" asked Akashi.

"You seemed to be preoccupied with something these past few days."

"How did you know?"

The girl said then, in a voice that was both considered serious and cute, she said, "It's really quite simple. My mind told it to me."

"Your mind."

"Yeah. Sometimes, I can play with information, just to stave off boredom. Then I think about them, and arrive at a single truth. If you don't want me involved, you don't have to tell me. But if you do… tell me of the events occurring around you. At the very least, I might forget about this boredom for even a moment."

Akashi raised an eyebrow at the little girl's words spoken in that serious voice, brimming with a secret interest. Akashi sat over to Shirazakura's side. Once he came closer to this strange girl, he began his tale of the peculiar harp.

"…So that's why all of us teachers have been in fear. Someone said it's the ghost of Mr. Nikaido, but he's still alive. If it continues, it won't be pleasant… but, as for what to do…" Shirazakura uttered a short phrase in a low voice. "Move the harp somewhere else." And then Shirazakura said no more. Once again, she sank into her darkness, one formed of books, thoughts, and boredom. No matter how many times Akashi attempted to recapture her attention, she said not another word until Akashi was about to leave.

"Is that the reason… you haven't been visiting me lately?" Her voice was softer than usual.

"That's the gist of it… why? Could it be that you prefer my being here?"

"Not at all… it's just…" She didn't talk after that, and Akashi commenced to leave.

* * *

When Akashi returned to school the next day, he borrowed the key to Mr. Nikaido's room and relocated the harp with the help of Nebuya. It was a large and heavy instrument, with countless strings strung from top to bottom. He simply asked him to drag it across the plush carpet a mere twenty centimeters or so, and then they would go to practice.

"So it's not supposed to play. Why?" Nebuya asked.

"Well, I don't know exactly why, quite yet, but Yuki told me to do that, so I thought I'd give it a try."

It was nearing lunchtime. And from that day onward… the harp never played again.

* * *

The next morning was cooler, a fine day that foretold of the coming of fall.

With the season soon to begin, a restless excitement was starting to spread through the student body.

Akashi walked to the library and called out to the doll lolling in the darkness. "Can you explain what happened?"

That cold and beautiful girl, petite enough to be mistaken for a doll, was carefully watching Akashi with her jewel-like hazel eyes.

"…About what?"

"The 'haunted' harp. Eikichi moved it a little bit to the side, just like you said to do, and last night it didn't play. But why would that happen?"

"The man on the first floor was playing the harp on the second floor."

"Come again?"

"I'm saying the harp on the second floor was being played by the harp on the first floor."

"I don't understand," answered Akashi promptly.

"A harp was playing in a locked room with no one inside, without even the lights turned on. And once you moved it, the music stopped."

"Right."

"Investigate the room directly below it on the first floor. You should find another harp there. When the culprit plays the harp on the first floor, that vibrates the instrument on the second floor."

"…I see."

"A harp is an instrument with many strings pulled taut from top to bottom. A sound is produced by plucking the strings. And the floor of the room where the harp is should be overlaid with plush carpet. The culprit made many small holes through the ceiling of his room on the first story, which is also the floor of the room on the second story, and one by one, tied strings to connect the harp on the top floor to that on the bottom floor. And so, when the instrument on the first floor was played, the strings of the harp on the second floor were also plucked. When he finished his performance, he pulled out the strings that he had secretly strung through the ceiling. The holes in the floor of the second-story room should be thoroughly hidden by the plush carpet. This is just one of the many worthless tricks that stage magicians have been using for generations. Just a bit of hysteria to fool children into believing in ghosts." She muttered this disinterestedly, and once again, flipped a page in her book. Her radiant black hair undulated with every movement of her small head.

"Then that would mean the person doing it, most likely, is the new music teacher." Akashi followed up.

"Mmm. It is necessary that the culprit be skilled in playing the harp. That limits the number of people capable of pulling it off. And that the first floor had a music room." Shirazakura said.

"I suppose he was envious of Mr. Nikaido's popularity, and stirred up this fuss over ghosts so that everyone would feel frightened at the thought of him. Who else would have reason to do it except for that man? In other words, he was the only one who didn't know that Mr. Nikaido was still alive. Everyone else knew that Mr. Nikaido was recuperating in the hospital. But the new teacher didn't know that. He was probably under the mistaken impression that the previous music teacher had died."

"And when the student council called the hospital in the aftermath of the mess, he seemed to be surprised when he heard you mention the hospital. Since he didn't know that Mr. Nikaido was in the hospital, he didn't understand why you rushed to phone them when the incident with the ghost happened." Shirazakura slowly turned away from him, like a wild animal returning to the deep forest, and turned her attention back to her books once more. He stared mutely at her small form, so very slight, and so finely featured that she could have been hand-made. Shirazakura said nothing more, perhaps no longer even aware of Akashi's presence, ignoring him.

"What's this? Are you ignoring me?"

"…"

"It looks like I haven't considered you for the past few days because of this mystery."

"Don't… say sorry… maybe I… acted a bit too angry, as well."

"I never intended to. But to hear an apology from you, yourself… this certainly is rare."

As always, she was a girl of few words. If something didn't need to be said, she didn't say it. It was simple as that.

"Yuki." He called her out of her intense reading.

"I'm not in the mood to chat. There's no need for us to squander our time exchanging empty, idle talk." Her reply had a sharper tongue to it than usual, yet Akashi remained unaffected.

"Pointless? I don't believe so. We are classmates. It would be troublesome if we don't know anything about each other."

"Are you saying we can cooperate better by strengthening our bonds of friendship? Fair enough. But is that actually what you want?"

"What are you spouting now?"

"For what I know, you could be throwing around this 'basketball' and 'friend' stuff as a way to gather intel."

Another thing the boy didn't understand was that, if she knew that the whole time, why did she follow his wishes? Was it because she, too, sank under the pressure of the atmosphere around him?

"Not at all," he lied. His expression didn't change, and would be impossible to read normally.

"Then you won't mind a little test."

"A test? You're… challenging me?" He asked both angered and amused at the same time.

"No, I'm not. This test is simply to see if you actually mean what you're saying. If you do, this should be simple."

"Very well."

"Then here is your question. Why do you want me as your friend?"

"Hm? That's obvious, isn't it? You're…" the atmosphere around him changed drastically, just then. A grin passed on his face. "Useful. Insightful. Interesting. That's all."

"So you do… think that. I guess your sense of friendship really isn't genuine. Thinking about it, it makes sense… I'll hold up my end of the deal, anyway. What do you want to know about me?"

Oh, what he wanted to know about Shirazakura. The questions completely blocked out the given information at this point, but if he had to narrow it down…

"Where did you go to before you transferred to Rakuzan?"

"Before transferring to Rakuzan…" she trailed off in a train of thought. "I was homeschooled."

"Did you transfer because of your parents?"

"I don't want to talk about this any longer. My parents were directly asked by the government to go to America… something top-secret. I'm staying here and living with Mary until they come back."

Before he was able to ask anything else, she interjected with, "I believe that fulfills my end of the bargain."

That girl really was a mystery to the end.

It felt like the more he got to know her, the more he got to learn, yet the less he could understand.

"Who is this 'Mary'?" He asked.

"Mary is the maid."

He blinked. He had almost overlooked that fact; her actions that were filled with grace were influenced greatly by her parents. "What did your parents do, while on the topic?"

"My father was a politician. My mother was a detective."

_So that's attributable on why she's so insightful…_ he thought.

Suddenly, the door to the library opened, and in came Mibuchi Reo and Mayuzumi Chihiro.

"Sei-chan~! I knew I'd find you here… ah, Yu-chan is here, too…"

"You say that as if I'm sort of a hinderance." She said, sounding thoroughly offended.

"No, not at all!" He waved his hands, dismissing the topic.

"And how long were you standing outside the door for, you two? How long did you eavesdrop on the conversation?"

The two immediately started a cold sweat. Her analysis was scary. "Since you said you were homeschooled." Mayuzumi confessed.

"I see… why are you two here, anyway."

"I wanted to see Sei-chan. We talk during our breaks, usually… but lately, he's been here more often!" Mibuchi complained.

"My book needed to be renewed, but when I got here, I finished it. So I'm getting the next one in the series." Mayuzumi stated, holding up his Light Novel.

"Do you come here every day during lunch, Yu-chan? It's not healthy. You'll get hungry." Mibuchi sat down, next to Akashi.

"It's not good to almost be in a rush for school, either." She flipped a page in one of the many books in front of her.

Mibuchi asked, "How did you know I was almost late for class?"

The girl retained emotionless. "It's very simple. My mind told it to me."

"And what does that mean…?"

"It happened something like this," Yuki said, raising her cute voice triumphantly. "Mibuchi-sempai, I have determined that you are a methodical, organized, bore of a man."

"H-hey!"

"And yet, what has happened to your necktie? It ought to be neatly in place around your neck, but one can see that it has been shoved into your pocket instead. For this reason, I have deduced that you likely had to leave your dormitory in a rush."

Mibuchi instinctively touched his hand to his neck. True to her words, the tie that should have been neatly in place was missing. Instead, it was stuffed into his pocket, still untied.

"And then, there's that smell," Shirazakura continued.

"Huh? What smell?"

"Yes, the savory smell of bread. Why would you be carrying bread around with you when lunch was still hours away? In other words, if we look in your other pocket…"

Mibuchi put his hand into the pocket that did not contain the necktie, and pulled out the sandwich that he had shoved inside when he left the house, in a small plastic bag. It had been mostly squashed, but still smelled good.

"The breakfast you should have already eaten is still in your pocket. From this, we can tell that you were running late. That is all. Do you understand now?"

Seemingly tired of talking, Shirazakura stretched, and opened her mouth widely in a weary yawn. The slightest trace of teardrops collected in the corners of her eyes. Akashi stared at her curiously, much the way one would stare at some unidentifiable object.

Noticing this, the two other boys looked at each other for a moment, exchanging thoughts.

"Since it's lonely here, you won't mind if we join you, right?" Mibuchi asked. "You're… Sei-chan's friend, right?"

"Classmate." They corrected simultaneously.

"R-Right…"

"Did you know? After that incident with the harp, you've made quite a name for yourself. 'Princess Snow Black of the Library.'" Mayuzumi said.

"That's ridiculous, ghost-sempai." She replied.

"Hey…" a vein of anger literally popping on his forehead.

"Don't you have any other friends than Sei-chan?" Mibuchi asked, while trying to take a glimpse of one of the books she was reading.

"Like I said, Akashi-san is not a friend. He's a classmate. But… I don't talk to people a lot. I don't have any need to. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Isn't that lonely?" He asked.

"Not really. I haven't talked to someone alive before I came to Rakuzan for eleven years… other than Mary."

"Eleven years?" All three of them were shocked to hear her have said those words.

"Sometimes the phone wrung, but Mary picked it up. I didn't have to."

"What… exactly did you do?" Akashi asked.

"I read… I played the piano… I solved puzzles… and I ate the food Marie prepared for me."

Akashi had already predicted that she grew up to be sheltered. He already was fully aware that she wasn't the type to go outside every day. Those kind of things were understandable. But to this extent… it was very unexpected.

Did she, who lived such a solitary life feel sympathy for him? "You, who should care more about yourself than I?" Akashi spoke the last of his thoughts out loud.

"… What was that?" Yuki asked.

"It's nothing."

Soon, the bell rang, and Mibuchi and Mayzumi bid their farewells, leaving Akashi and Yuki behind.

"…aren't you going to attend class?" Akashi asked.

"It's Physical Education. As you probably noticed, I never attend this class."

"Wait. For all those years, how did you have physical exercise?"

"I walked around the house. I carried some books." She continued listing things that were ordinary, and nowhere near considered. 'exercise.'

"So you're physically weak," Akashi concluded.

Yuki became silent and shifted her attention to the books in front of her. After a very long time, she raised her head and stared at his face.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing, I just felt inconceivable, to why I would tell you so much."

He felt mystified too, slightly. Never had he thought that Yuki would tell him so much about herself, making him feel a bit worried about the future of the doll-like girl—even though she was absolutely not qualified to be worried for other people.

"You can just tell me what you think. I don't mind."

"No… I can't tell you."

"Suit yourself for now… but, Yuki…"

Just then, the red head leaned in close, forcing Yuki to look at him, and not avert her gaze to the books. "I _will_ find out more. If something catches my interest, it can't be avoided. You may be good at making deductions, but I won't lose. I am absolute."

At the close proximity, he noticed her eyes were the kind of hazel who's main eye color when near enough was impossible to tell. Occasionally, it would be an amber color, while it could be seen as an emerald green or swamp-like color.

He backed up and brushed some of her hair out of her face. She instinctively looked at it, but returned her gaze back to her books.

"Ah, though, don't misunderstand. As far as I'm concerned, you haven't the slightest bit of charm. In other news, congratulations. You've simply intrigued me."

"Intrigued?"

"I usually have no interest whatsoever in any particular person. The majority of people here at Rakuzan High School are like that, aside for a few. But I suspect that you'll be able to become even more interesting."

_… he might be a classmate, but he's one so need to be careful around… that much hasn't changed._ Yuki thought.

"Be seeing you." He said, and headed over to PE.

Although they encountered each other many times, both in class and after school, they didn't talk to each other for the rest of that day.

* * *

**'kay 'kay, not much development in the first part of this chappy but later on, there is! totes!**

**alsooo. i'm starting to have a bit of fun! but i'm sure that won't last, and i'll hit a wall, soon...**

**i hate hiatus, and i'm plagued with it!**

**ahh, i love mysteries. in my school, i'm known as a detective, so i really love things like these.**

**the next chapter will be a lot better! i promise!**

**...if i can try this one thing or if you like this kinda thing or...**

**puhaaaa.**

**KT-desu: Thank yoou! I updated! ... as you can see... i really do need brains**

**Guest: odd characters are cool. odd is the new cool. just like black is the new pink.**

**(btw i have no idea if black is the new pink or whatever is whatever.)**

**anyway, i'll be seeing you guys next chapter! **

**-SSB**


	5. I Can't Tell You Anything

**Deductions**

**Chapter Five: I Can't Tell You Anything**.

* * *

"Rakuzan's Cultural Festival …?" Yuki asked, surrounded by the other members of the basketball club.

"That's correct. It's an all-day event." Akashi announced.

"It's actually really fun, you know~?" Mibuchi encouraged.

"I see. I'm sure it'll be full of people… a bunch… so, I don't want to." Shirazakura stated bluntly.

"Huh? I don't get it. Loads of people are gonna be there, so you don't want to go?" Hayama asked.

"That's exactly it." She replied.

"How introverted can you get?" Nebuya said, and took a bite out of his granola bar.

"Yuki, you're required to come to it." Akashi interjected.

"I'll call in sick. Mary will do it for me."

"Th-That's cheating!" Hayama claimed. "Man, I wish I got to choose which days I had to go to school and which days I didn't."

"I don't see a meaning. This is a good example of how good intentions going hand-in-hand with obliviousness pave the road to hell. Akashi-san can agree, right?"

"… While I can't deny it's pointlessness, I'm still part of the student council. That means it's all the more important for me to attend. Furthermore; this year, the school's party will be evaluated so that students must display their artistic achievements and Cultural knowledge."

"C'mon, Yu-chan! I bet it'll be fun!" Mibuchi said enthusiastically.

"Mm, but… well… okay. I'll think about it." The girl said. "It's strange though… wouldn't Akashi say something like, 'you will go. My orders are absolute?"

"Maybe because if I force you to go, you won't enjoy yourself." he chuckled. "But… I don't have an answer to that… this time."

In truth, he wasn't sure either. Why did he act differently around her?

"Also; Akashi-san, you live far away from the school, right? Then, how're you gonna get back home? The cars shouldn't be driving that far at that time and the trains don't have anything going that late…"

"Yes, I'm not sure about that either. I might be able to go to Reo's home, but he says he might have some things planned…"

"I see." She said, turning away.

"Yu-chan, how is it that you can manage to remain so calm?" The Shooting Guard asked.

"Calm?"

"I'm not sure, it just kinda seems like you're not affected by anything, like you're emotionless…"

"You make it sound like I'm some sort of monster." her expression was misleading, but it almost carried a tone that shared that of someone offended.

"Not at all."

"I'm human, too. I experience joy, anger, sorrow and excitement just as much as anyone else. I simply make an effort not to reveal what I'm feeling, either through my actions or my speech."

"You make it sound so easy, but I'm really impressed you're able to keep that up!"

"If you want to avoid being manipulated by others, you can't let them know what you're thinking… and you can't let yourself get caught up in what they're saying and forget to think for yourself."

Everyone had a feeling that Yuki was referring to Akashi in that one sentence. Was there anyway they could affect the mask? Without quite understanding why, Mibuchi was beginning to feel increasingly combative toward this strange, brilliant girl and her emotionless outlook. He decided that he would try to throw her off guard.

"That's why you act like that? That's… a real disappointment."

"Eh?"

"I mean, You're really pretty when you smile. It's a shame to hide that. I would prefer it if you smiled more!"

Yuki rubbed her forearm with her hand and brushed her side hair away, a bit of red was able to be seen on her face. "Wh-Where's this… coming from? H-How am I supposed to respond… to you calling me "pretty" out of the blue like this?"

"Is that a little smile I see?"

"What? M-Mibuchi-sempai, did you… t-trick me?!" Yuki looked appalled. This was the first emotion they had seen from her.

Reo gave a shocked expression. _Huh…?_

"I-I can't believe you would actually manipulate a girl's heart like that! You're a cruel, cruel person, Mibuchi-sempai!"

All of the guys immediately looked at Mibuchi in shock.

"Th-That's not what I meant! I'm sorry, I crossed the line… but I wasn't completely lying when I said you were pretty!" He complimented again, and waved his hands furiously as if to clean the slate of his mistake. Before Akashi could quadruple Mibuchi's training menu, Yuki let out a sigh.

"Like I thought, you're easy to trick."

"Huh?" Everyone but Akashi said that word at once.

"You're not a person who would compliment a girl on her appearance unprompted. It was obviously forced. And you thought I wouldn't pick up on that?"

"Wait, so…"

_I thought I'd tricked her… and it turned out she was the one tricking me?!_ Mibuchi immediately sighed in disbelief. Right when the boys thought they had finally gotten a true glimpse of the girl, but it turned out that that was an act, too.

"You shouldn't let your guard down." She told them.

* * *

At that very moment, someone disturbed the peace in the library.

"Wh-where's that doll…?" The boy stumbled around the conservatory in search of the porcelain doll that had been said to be found in the library. Once he realized that it was nowhere to be found, he gulped.

He set down his bag and scanned the vicinity. He searched. And searched some more. And kept searching.

"…H-how is that possible?!"

Just then, the sound of someone flinging open the door to the library echoed. Sucking his teeth in annoyance, the boy turned around… to see Akashi Seijuro.

He halted, and Akashi did the same. The heterochromatic eyes before him were so very cold….

"Are you here to visit someone? … What's your business here?" He asked.

"Wh-What are you talking about? There isn't any girl in the library."

They stared at one another, each positioned at opposite ends. Akashi looked up at the boy, curiously.

"I searched the area twice, but the library was empty both times. Everyone keeps insisting there's a girl here, but there isn't one."

"What…?"

"It's dusty and gloomy, and there's no one there. The library has been empty for a long time. They must have seen a princess. 'Princess Snow Black of the Library.' That girl doesn't exist."

His words somewhat confused Akashi. It made him slightly angry, as well.

The truth was that he secretly felt something different than what he told her when he met Yuki. She may have been eccentric, and there were times he couldn't quite understand her, and even felt angry with her. But she was still his dear friend. And there was no way she didn't exist.

"That's impossible."

The boy backed away from Akashi at his cold expression. "That can't be true, though… there really is and never was someone here."

"You're wrong."

He was still confused.

_Yuki… doesn't exist…? But why would he make such a claim? It's not true. Yuki is very real._

And then…

Something small and black appeared in Akashi's line of sight.

He narrowed his eyes, trying to make it out.

Far away, near the back of the library, the face of a girl peered out from behind a bookshelf. It was Yuki.

The boy left, not wanting to get on Akashi's nerves with his constant continuing.

"Yuki… I knew you existed, obviously."

"How rude." Shirazakura gave a stare of indignation. And then she slowly moved out of sight, her black hair vanishing a moment later, writhing like the tail of a dinosaur as it trailed behind her body.

Only her cute voice lingered in Akashi's ears.

"…Of course I exist!"

* * *

"So that means…" After a few moments of silence, Akashi spoke again. Yuki looked at him questioningly. "I guess you do exist, huh…"

Shirazakura looked up, peering at him suspiciously. "Not that again. Of course I exist."

"Though, it's strange." Akashi said. "That student came to the library searching for you, and said you weren't here. He said it was dark and there was nobody around."

Yuki was silent for a moment.

"…I didn't know him," she whispered suddenly.

"Come again?"

"I didn't know him, so I hid."

"You hid? Where?"

Yuki looked up from her books and pointed at a small chest nearby.

Akashi stared at the chest.

It was a rectangular box that didn't appear large enough to admit a person. But if someone as small as Yuki crouched into a ball, she may have been able to fit inside somehow…

Akashi carefully reached out his hand and opened the door to the chest.

Inside the chest was some apples, and some books. The door was designed so that it could be locked from the inside.

"…Were you in here?"

"…."

"Do you always hide in here when strangers come by?"

Yuki said nothing.

_Perhaps she's actually extremely shy?_ Understanding dawned on Akashi. But then a thought suddenly crossed his mind. Wait a minute. What about when…

As Shirazakura ignored him, busying herself with her books, he asked, "But when I came up here for the first time, you didn't know who I was either, right?"

"…Mmm."

"And yet you were sitting right here reading your books, just as calmly as ever. And you were the one who spoke first, remember? Oh, I remember what you said to me. 'Odd that you can speak. Probably because you don't feel like you're alive.'"

"…Mm."

"Why didn't you hide from me when I first entered the library?"

Yuki didn't reply.

Akashi waited a while, then gave up with a sigh. "Well, not that it matters any…" Then he took a glance at her. Hold on…?

Shirazakura's face was cold and expressionless as usual, but for some reason, her ears were bright red.

_Oh_…? Akashi cocked his head. "What happened to your ears?"

"My ears…?"

"They're red."

"…No, they're not."

"Yes, they are."

"…No, they're not."

"But—"

"If I say they're not red, then they're not red!" Shirazakura lifted up her book and slammed it on the table. With this, he decided to stop saying things that would provoke her, even if he didn't know why exactly she found them so disagreeable.

A gust of fall air blew between them, delicately rustling Yuki's black hair.

_What if_… Akashi thought to himself. The wind blew once more.

As if waiting for someone whom she had never met, the girl Shirazakura Yuki, who resembled a small porcelain doll, with her black hair dangling from the library chair like silken thread, met the boy who had been regarded as the fearful Captain of the Generation of Miracles. He would become her one friend.

The sky began to darken. Surely that's how they became friends…

Akashi felt somehow greatly amused by this, before pausing.

Had he just considered Yuki a friend?

Yes. He did.

And so the black snow princess and the emperor at last found each other, through a series of deductions.

* * *

Practice was beginning for the boys. Yuki stayed to watch on the bench, reading a book.

They were practicing through the scrimmage method, and Coach Shirogane had left momentarily, leaving Akashi in charge for the time being. Mibuchi drew two fouls on Hayama, and got both foul shots in… and both from the three-point line.

"Kotaro." Akashi said dangerously to the small forward. Kotaro raised his hands up to surrender.

"I'll make sure it doesn't happen next time, I swear!"

Yuki spoke up at this point, while not heightening her field of gaze past her books. "The Winter Cup will be coming up soon, so you're aware. If you'll be playing like this…"

"Not you too, Shirazakura!" He whined.

The practice went on, and Hayama didn't make another mistake.

"We can't afford to make mistakes in games," Shirazakura gave a pointed stare at Hayama. The others followed her gaze to him.

"Hey! Y'know, sometimes, I really hate you guys!" He whined.

"Don't say that." Shirazakura's voice spoke up lightly but sternly. That time was the only time they had heard her voice deadly serious. Her eyes were hidden under her bangs. "Don't take words like that so lightly."

"Ah… sorry…?" Not quite understanding what he did wrong, he apologized.

"People don't always get… the chance to say sorry…" Her voice harbored the same expression as someone who was speaking from experience.

_That expression._ For some reason, seeing it on the girl made Akashi feel… was it called… sympathy? Anyhow, he didn't like it.

"Kotaro. Double the Training Regimen tomorrow, for not doing well enough today." Akashi announced.

"E-Eh? But…" before he had time to protest, Akashi smirked a bit.

"Ah, did you say something about tripling it?"

"N-No!" He exclaimed quickly, while lamenting over how frightening Akashi was in his head.

"It's her first time having her actually watch us play, and you show her something this disappointing? You're allowed to to all out in this game. If that's the extent of your abilities, I don't see…"

"I get it, I get it!" Hayama replied, grinning widely.

That match, she was able to see mostly what they could do; Nebuya's strength, Akashi's precision, Hayama's dribble and Mibuchi's multiple shooting forms.

"What do you think?" Akashi asked Yuki, who was observing the second-years. "The Uncrowned Kings. I never knew they were this strong." She replied, still observing the seniors from head to toe. Though her tone tried to imply she was interested, her emotionless face betrayed it.

Shirazakura was never really someone to show any emotion, but that was what made her interesting. Just like Kuroko, you could never tell what she was thinking. Not only that, but she also was a fast thinker.

"Yuki. You should start going home now." Akashi spoke up.

"Hm? Why?" She asked.

"You don't live too near the school, either. You usually take the train home, but on the days you don't attend practice, you get a ride home."

"You're very observant, Akashi-san. But still, it's alright. For today, I will wait for you all to finish."

"I can't allow that. It gets dark earlier because of Daylight Savings."

"… That's strange. You sound concerned for me."

He noticed it just as she said it. Was he showing concern for her? For what purpose? It wasn't because she was helping out the team, surely. Because if it was, he would be more concerned about her staying. In other words… he really did think of her as a friend.

"Since it can't be helped, I'll walk you home."

"… That's okay, but is it fine on your end?"

"Now who's the concerned one? It's very fine. My father's out for his business."

"I see… just… be careful… please."

* * *

After practice, the boys were all filing out, all bidding a farewell to Akashi and Shirazakura while doing so.

"Did you know, Akashi-san? In the book I'm reading, there's a special quote."

"… I see. Why are you telling me this?" He questioned.

"'_In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it's impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves._*' A quote from the English book I'm reading, Ender's Game."

"Perhaps the line is relatable. None the less, let's head out, shall we?" He said, shouldering his bag, as she followed him out.

* * *

After the whole train ride, as well as walking a few blocks, the sun had finished setting and Yuki, as well as Akashi had arrived in front of a large house; the kind of house that could also be considered a mansion. The kind of house where rich people lived.

"Thank you for coming all this way." Yuki said at the front door.

"It wasn't a problem."

Before their conversation was able to continue, the door to the house opened, revealing a maid with brown ponytails.

"Shirazakura-sama. It's very late. What are you doing at this time?" The maid asked.

"Ah, Mary. I apologize; I was at an extracurricular event." She said.

"… Who is this?" The maid affixed her attention to the redhead in front of her.

"Ah, I'm Akashi Seijuro." He introduced.

"From the Akashi family?"

"Yes."

"Shirazakura-sama. Forgive me for asking, however… no, never mind. We can speak of that later. Would you like to come in?"

"It might be a while for my ride home to appear, so yes. It would be fine with me." Akashi said.

"I'll prepare some tea for you. Is black tea okay?"

"Yes, what about you?" Akashi offered To Yuki.

"Yes. I'll help."

"You don't have to help. You should treat to your guest." Mary insisted.

"But…"

"It's alright. Just sit down."

"… okay. Akashi-san?"

"Of course." He agreed.

* * *

" … Isn't it about time we put a stop to this?" She asked.

"What is this, now?"

"You believe that, in order to build a bond of trust, we must get to know each other better, yes? I can see where you're coming from… but I think you would be better off giving up on me."

"And why is that?"

"Because I can't tell you anything."

"Meaning you can't trust me?"

"…Getting too involved with others can cloud one's judgement. I let my feelings for someone cloud my judgement. No, I can't tell you anything more. We're done here. It's not that I don't trust you. In fact, I do. And that's why I felt I should tell you… that I truly, honestly, can't tell you anything. Neither about me… or anything else."

Though several moments passed in silence, Akashi finally spoke up.

"That's alright." Akashi said. "You don't need to speak; that's because I already know what you will say."

She paused, and looked up at him. "… I see. You're an interesting character, Akashi-san."

* * *

"Sorry for the wait. Alright, drink up. Today, I prepared Darjeeling tea. It has a good aroma, so try drinking it straight." Mary said, after bringing in the two teacups and pot.

"Thank you very much." Akashi said before taking a sip. When he did, he praised it. "It's very good."

"Is it? I'm glad." With that, Mary left the room to attend to whatever matters she had to deal with.

"I'm surprised that the two of us can relax like this." Yuki said, while looking at Akashi.

"The feeling is mutual. It seems we may have some things in common."

"Seems so."

"You still don't seem to want to talk about yourself… however, I've started to think there's nothing wrong with that."

Yuki looked down. "I'm sorry."

"I suppose. After all, everyone has things they'd rather not speak of."

" … Your eyes may not seem too alive… but you're kind."

"I suppose that's alright. You have to rely on yourself, but living a life in which you distrust everyone else would be bothersome."

"That's… true… I also believe in you, Akashi-san."

Just then, Mary came back in. "Would you like another cup?"

"Yes, please. We've still got plenty of time." Akashi said, with, though it went unnoticed by Shirazakura and Mary, a small smile play at the end of his mouth.

* * *

**And that's the end of chapter five! thanks to you all for reviewing, following and favoriting! i really appreciate it!**

**anyways, i have a chess tournament tomorrow so i might not post for a bit. but i'll have the next chappy up asap!**

**opono: why, thank you, good sir. would you like some tea?**

**i have no idea why i said that just then. i need help. but again, thanks for everything!**

**it's Lucy's Wonderland Madness: thank you! you'll learn plenty more about her in time! I love her, but i'm the writer so i don't count.**

**just reader: Haha, yep! you got it; Yuki's based off that character! but don't worry, she's not an exact replica or anything. She just has similar features and stuff. Thank you for reviewing, hope I won't disappoint you!**

**well then, with that, i'll see you all some other time. So long, farewell!**

**-SSB**


	6. I Don't Know What I Feel

**Deductions**

**Chapter Six: I Don't Know What I Feel**

* * *

Once Akashi nodded to the rugged PE teacher standing in front of the gate and entered the school, he saw the lively bustle of activity because of the school culture festival that had been one week away.

In the very center of the road that extended from the school gate to the main entrance, there were preparation spaces set up for each class' act.

He saw strangely-written warning signs, like 'Wet Paint! Don't you dare sit!' And material-requesting posters that said things like, 'looking for cardboard! If you can offer any, please contact 2-A Executive Committee!'

As he looked around, he wondered from how early in the morning everyone had started working from. There was already students with paint-smeared clothes, and even occasionally, students dressed in some kimonos and costumes.

However, for Akashi, who was the type of person that would be forced to communicate with others only during times like those, preparations for the school cultural festival would be nothing but a hindrance.

Furthermore, during the period of preparation, the schoolgate would become increasingly noisy from the festival excitement; there would be detention until midnight, and people would be flirting and breaking the rules, so it was generally not good.

And after the actual day of the cultural festival, there would be an abnormal pile of trash behind.

What was with this unproductive event? It was ridiculous.

_This is a good example of how good intentions going hand-in-hand with obliviousness pave the road to hell._ that was how Yuki had described it, and her words could not have been more exemplary.

Even despite that, everything was mandatory. Their class was doing a representation of Japanese Food. It was voted most popular in the class.

Well, there wasn't anything else to do, so Akashi headed to the place where he knew he would find that girl.

* * *

"Yuki? I'm here." There was no response, but it was always this way. Akashi took one more step. He was very familiar with what lay in store for him beyond that point. For what awaited him was…

…An exquisite porcelain doll sitting on the chair. And yet its gloriously long black hair was neither plaited nor piled up, but cascaded all the way down to the heels of a diminutive pair of shoes, twining about the doll's body like a velvet turban come undone.

The expression on its bowed profile was as cool and dispassionate as sculpted porcelain. The eyes could have belonged to an adult or to a child; it was hard to say. The eyelids were heavy and the gaze unfixed, the eyes of someone dreaming at dawn.

For a moment, Akashi paused, transfixed by that scene. Then he assumed his usual composure and walked up to her, this girl who was as beautiful as a porcelain doll, and nearly every bit as tiny.

"I've been calling you all this time. You ought to answer me back, Yuki."

"…Oh, it's Akashi-san." Her lips parted slightly, almost invisibly so. She spoke in a voice that was cute, in jarring similarity to the youthfulness of her body. The girl—Yuki—said only these three brief words, then sealed her lips again.

On the table, among their various languages were books in Latin, German, and a wriggly, earthworm-like script which Akashi guessed to be Arabic. All appeared to be difficult reading. The genres also ranged widely, including anything from witchcraft and alchemy to science, advanced mathematics, and ancient history.

"Of course it's me. Who else is going to go into this gloomy place?"

"…Sometimes Mayuzumi-sempai used to come here, although he hasn't stopped by lately. It looks like he's taken the book recommendation I gave him."

"Huh." Akashi nodded. Akashi recalled that he had began to visit this strange girl in the library on a regular basis. In the process, the two of them had gradually come to know each other. However… whenever he visited the library, he would always get drawn in with Yuki's intolerably eccentric manner, and somehow he would always find himself back at this library, over and over again.

Akashi glanced at the floor next to Shirazakura. Stacks of books were scattered all through the ground. He looked over at Yuki, but she was engrossed in her reading, seeming to have forgotten about everything that she had brought, as well as everything else around her.

"What a mess you've made here. You're always leaving things lying around like this."

"You're annoyed because of the festival?"

Akashi blinked in surprise. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden. Wait, how did you know that?"

"Your behavior isn't easy to read, so I guessed from things that happened in the surroundings."

"…Well, I guessed as much."

"For one thing, you weren't following your usual morning schedule. I was able to see the preparations too, and can conclude that you came to school extra early to see how things are progressing. Second, why would someone with such a strong presence and control over his likes and dislikes feel something such as tedium right after observing the preparations. As you came in, you sounded more exasperated then usual, and your responses have also been showing less interest, but more of others, meaning your thoughts are on different things, and the only thing, after my first deduction, must be the cause."

"…Yeah. When you put it that way. It's like you can guess everything I do, even when you aren't watching me." Though he sounded annoyed, he was actually very intrigued. And this was the entire reason he liked her so.

He parted his lips before closing them again. He had almost spoken his thoughts.

Yuki suddenly looked up, and with her sparkling hazel eyes, which couldn't be identified as more blue, green or brown, she pinned Akashi, those hazel eyes meeting the heterochromatic ones. There was a long silence, then the girl spoke. "…Your eyes… they're strange. The same eyes as that house. Yet you breathe. Why?"

In the world outside of the library, Akashi happened to be a top student who had been selected as student council representative and star athlete, and normally would never have allowed anyone to say that about him. But when it came to this eccentric, half-mad little girl who yet read through the most abstruse of tomes in the blink of an eye, somehow he felt to not allow it would fill him with distaste and be uninteresting.

In fact, Akashi still knew little about who Yuki was, and had gained only little information. Akashi himself had never directly asked Yuki about any of the ones she wouldn't want to answer.

Over the past few months, Akashi felt as if he was spending his days slowly getting closer to a miniature wild animal that was unaccustomed to human contact. Although it was the source of much vexation for him, he somehow always ended up taking the effort to visit the school library day after day for the sake of that peculiar young girl… such was the life he experienced.

Yuki was still single-mindedly reading her books. But this was no deterrent to Akashi, who went on speaking.

"You're too quiet. You hole yourself up in here more and more frequently; there's no point in going to school after being homeschooled if this is all that you'll do."

"You and I have the same schedule for the Festival. You had something to do with it. Why?" She suddenly changed the subject.

"Hm? That's because I wanted to observe you."

"Is that really the only reason? Or could there be another? Do you know what this other reason is? Are you aware of another reason? No… it doesn't look like it, but there is another reason." She spoke in a bullet-like manner, constantly asking things. "That's how I think. Just because you looked like you wanted to know."

"Another reason…? You're right… just that alone doesn't seem like a good enough cause… if I wanted to observe you, I could just observe you at any time. But… it's also true that I can't think of why."

"Mm, I see… then, to help you out, it should be an emotion you aren't familiar with. It's not that uncommon, for someone who has only had victory. But even more than that… the emotion should be rare." The girl said.

"I don't understand."

"You wouldn't." Her gaze seemed to soften a little bit, under that cold mask she put up. "But even I don't know what you're feeling."

* * *

The day of the School Culture Festival. The beginning of an incident started about several hours ago.

The student desks and teacher's desk that were usually in the center of the room were taken away, and in its place, a Japanese dessert restaurant had been magnificently set up.

Honestly, though, it wasn't anything extraordinary; it was thanks to Akashi's profound planning too, of course, but if it was like this, it wouldn't be apparent how much of a perfect job this was.

"I-it's almost time, huh …. It feels like some kind of dream; to think that we'd really be able to finish…!" A girl yelled in all her cheerfulness.

For Akashi, it wasn't anything special. Everyone was wearing normal school uniforms, and everyone seemed to show a somewhat excited expression upon their face. Akashi looked around the classroom. That girl wasn't there, strangely enough. Had she been telling the truth about not coming to the festival? Her shift started right away, so it would be difficult to progress past that point.

Oh, and if he had his whole day plan messed up by that girl…

Background music for the Culture Festival had started playing from the same speakers as earlier, announcing the start of the festival.

For the booth's effect, they had set up both modern and traditional Japanese decorations. A student came in with more baked goods and waited for the first customer.

Why was he so concerned about Yuki, anyway? It was utterly ridiculous.

The moment he stood up from the chair he had been observing the others on with this feeling, the door opened.

The most surprising person who came in was Yuki, who was wearing a kimono. It was a sumptuous, luxurious furisode* that was dyed with black edo yuzen dye, matched with pictures of pine, bamboo, plum and chrysanthemum. Even so, the scene really made Akashi speechless.

As Yuki stepped into the room, the students immediately stood up, before calming back down again. It wasn't a customer.

"I'm sorry I'm late." She announced, and ignored the others from that point. In response, they did the same.

Yuki walked over to Akashi. "Aren't you working a bit too much? Things turning out like this, I really feel lazy to even scold you that you do things over the top… What is it? Why are you staring at me?"

"Star—Ah, it's nothing." He shifted his gaze. "So you have these clothes too?"

He saw her in the Rakuzan uniform normally, so he was quite surprised. To be exact, it felt like the only person who was wearing clothing suitable for the festival was Shirazakura. Wearing a kimono, Yuki had long, black hair that could almost touch the floor. From any angle you looked at her, she just looked like a Japanese doll that could move.

"I thought it was a festival, so I wore this…."

"That's… not exactly this kind of festival." He said with an exasperated sigh. It was hard to believe the girl was so new to this sort of thing, because she fit right in. "Either way, you and I are serving first shift. Are you ready?"

"In this outfit… not really, but it'll have to do. I'll change during our break."

"I see. Let's begin, then."

* * *

One o'clock. Seeing as how this was the hour that food and drink-type booths like cafés and food stalls were most active, it was the most ideal time for Akashi and Yuki to take a break.

Exiting the classroom, the others were already prepared to take their shifts.

Yuki had finished changing and was going to go eat lunch with Akashi.

They'd served about two dozen other people during the morning, and being blessed with honest, normal customers, they were able to make it until noon without any further problems.

The space spread out in front of the main entrance was crowded with food stands in the middle of setting up, filled with blue tarp and cardboard.

From yakitori to hot dogs, and French fries to yakisoba and more, all the colored signboards helped to work up an appetite.

As Akashi walked with Yuki while looking back on the morning's events, he spotted a lunch area to the right side of the front gate where they could sit down and eat what we'd buy.

"Ah, how about going over there for lunch? We eat in the classroom every day, so every once in a while it's…"

"Hey, Akashi!"

Before Akashi had even noticed, Nebuya, Hayama and Mibuchi were standing there with Nebuya's arms full of food, and eating a fried squid in a way that made it look really delicious.

"…. Honestly, don't you know anything about cooperating? I thought we were going to go around and take a look together… Anyway, when did you even buy all that!?" Mibuchi scolded Nebuya, who had apparently run off while they were off shift, so Yuki guessed.

"Ah, sorry, sorry, Reo-nee. it just all looked so delicious, so I couldn't help myself. D'you want some? Here, eat whatever you'd like!"

In the bag that Nebuya held out, there was a large quantity of packs of things like yakisoba and okonomiyaki that seemed like they could become main dishes.

"That's a pretty nice selection. Well, anyway, let's just sit down somewhere and start eating. The seats in the back look like they're free." Finding an area that seemed empty, Hayama looked back at Nebuya and Mibuchi and said this, and saw that the Center was already onto his next victim, a hot dog, and nodding his head without saying anything. The spot he'd found was right in the shade, and walking there together, they sat down. Today, they were lucky to have nice weather; the perfect day for a School Culture Festival. It was even a little hot out, and many were wearing light clothing.

"Ah, Yu-chan, Sei-chan. Would you like to join us?" Mibuchi asked them.

"That's fine with me." Yuki said, then turning to Akashi for consent.

"Hm… well, I can't see anything wrong with it… and from another standpoint, I don't want to see you all eat too much or too little. After all, we have a lot of games coming up."

The moment they sat down, Nebuya groaned and shouted out, "I can't wait anymore!" and started to take the food out of the bag.

It would seem that the food he'd shown them earlier had only been a part of it; one after another, he spread out about five to six serving's worth of food onto the table.

"F-four-dimensional bag ….?"

With so much food that it seemed impossible that it had all fit in one bag, Nebuya decided to start eating from an okonomiyaki after a moment of indecision.

The others were also pretty hungry, and so they picked up various foods and pulled it towards each person.

"Hm? Aren't you going to eat, Yuki?"

"I am. Anyway, just how much are you going to eat? You're definitely going to get fat."

When it came to the food stalls at the Culture Festival, it was a festival of high calorie food. However, when they looked in the girl's bowl…

"She ordered onion ramen without ramen, pork and egg." Akashi announced. When they looked in it, it did look like there was only leek, onion and soup.

As they stared with sweat of question on their heads, Nebuya went through eating a hot dog, crepe, pizza stick, French fries, and chocolate-covered banana at an amazing pace. The abnormal amount was one thing, but just watching him eat all of that at once gave them heartburn.

"It's so good, though. Ah, but no matter how much I eat, it just turns into muscles." As they listened to this, they compared the amount that Nebuya was eating and the amount Yuki had.

"Who sells ramen in this kind of weather, anyway?" Mibuchi asked with a sigh.

"It's fall, so they probably thought it'd be colder." Akashi claimed.

"You should never make a conclusion before you have all the details. It biases the judgement." Yuki said. She took the disposable chopsticks, looked at it for awhile and breathed in deeply. Her small face was full of determination while the hands holding the tip of the chopsticks were applying force on it. But when the chopsticks were dragged into a '人' shape, it just shook but did not separate. How little strength did that girl have?

"Would you like me to give you a hand?" The shooting guard asked.

The cute girl visibly stared at Mibuchi. "It seems that you're the type that sees a frail bird that couldn't fly, tosses them upwards and sink in your own satisfaction after that, are you not? These type of people are the most useless of them all. When you walk away triumphantly, the bird would fall back down on the asphalt road and die, but you won't even know that."

_It's just a pair of disposable chopsticks, why am I scolded like this?_ But Mibuchi did not retort her. Again, she breathed in deeply and applied force to separate the chopsticks.

Thwack.

The chopstick on the right split into two. This is the most common result. She emotionlessly stared for awhile at the chopsticks with unequal length.

She moved at last, and started to eat the ramen (that pretty much had only leeks in it). As Akashi was thinking of this, she started to stare at him and said: "Your interests are really out of my comprehension. Does silently watching people eat make you happy?"

"No, no. It's just that it occurred to me that… no, nothing more needs to be said." Akashi said with a smile. The teammates watched the scene silently.

And, just for a moment, they thought that they felt Akashi's emperor-like atmosphere calm down to a more cool and composed one.

* * *

As planned, they had resumed business for their restaurant, but completely unlike the morning, there was no one coming by at all.

"That's weird. It wasn't like this at all this morning. Could it be that there's a bad rumor going around?"

Yuki stuck her head outside the door and checked up and down the hallway. Akashi was standing in the classroom and waiting for customers as usual, but in the first place, there didn't seem to be many people in the hall at all.

"Oh, right, right. I'm sure this is why, Yuki."

The print-out that Akashi had pulled out was the schedule of all the classes' booths for the day of the Culture Festival.

Yuki hadn't been there when they had been distributed, but because it was annoying to ask Akashi to show her his, She hadn't said anything this whole time. Thanks to that, she had no idea about the other classes' booths for today.

"Ah, okay …. So, which one's the reason that no one's coming?"

"It's this one, the 'Student Council Presentation' that's from 1 to 2 pm in the gym. I think everyone probably went to see that."

In the print-out where Akashi was pointing, it was certainly written, "'Student Council Presentation' 1PM-2PM." And what was more, it was the only one outlined with a thick frame and stood out a lot.

"I see. So the Student Council wants to stand out too, huh? I guess you're not there because of your shift. Anyway, they should have just had it later, and not in the time frame that booths are open. This probably isn't good for any of the other classes either, right?"

She didn't really like the strong assertiveness given off by the print-out's design, either. Even though they'd gone to the trouble of eating a proper lunch to attend for the customers in the afternoon, it couldn't be helped that no one was even coming.

"Well, after another thirty minutes, I'm sure we'll have a lot of customers then. So until then, let's just take the chance to relax for a while longer." Folding up the print-out again, Akashi closed the door she was sticking her head out of.

In the moments of silence, he stared at her.

_That girl is a liar._ That was the only conclusion Akashi could come up with. But what was she lying about?

He'd been fooled at her quaint, small appearance, but…

No, why were all his thoughts focused on one girl, so frequently?

… It was a rare emotion. One he 'wasn't familiar with.'

"Who are you? What are you to me?" Akashi spoke out loud, but not enough for the girl to have heard him. She simply stared in the opposite direction, awaiting the next customer.

* * *

The clock soon displayed the ending time of the Culture Festival; 4:00. Akashi heard an announcement coming from the speakers in the hallway: "Thank you for waiting, the event has come to a close. Each class, please follow the instructions given by the Executive Committee and begin cleaning up."

As they heard that, their exhaustion suddenly hit both Yuki and Akashi. Honestly, they'd wound up being involved in so many unexpected things today, and even gone through ridiculous shock, but once it was all over, it was actually interesting.

* * *

There was no basketball practice that day, and yet most of the boys on the basketball team insisted on going home with Yuki and Akashi.

"What's gotten into all of you, all of a sudden?" Akashi had asked, demanding a reason.

The excuses went something like this:

"There's a new udon shop I wanted to check out that was around there." Was Nebuya Eikichi's excuse.

"Well, I usually take the second bus home because it shortens the distance a lot, but Yu-chan's ride is still on my way!" Mibuchi Reo said.

"I don't really care for it, but… a bookstore I wanted to visit, is two stops after, so I'm taking the same ride." Chihiro Mayuzumi said. Whether it was an excuse or not wasn't apparent; and then, with Hayama, he had things to attend to that day. In any case, four people ended up accompanying Yuki home, even if only some way.

On the bus, it was filled with idle chatter of Nebuya and Mibuchi's scolding, and Mayuzumi's sighs.

After coming to a halt in their conversation, they noticed Akashi and Yuki again.

Yuki had fallen asleep and ended up on Akashi's shoulder.

As far as they were aware, Yuki hasn't had much social interaction… and they could also guess today was exhausting for her. She fell asleep in the other direction, but had rolled onto Akashi's shoulder.

_It seems she gets tired easy after prolonged socializing._ Akashi deduced, and smirked to himself. _She'll probably say something like, 'I'm sorry to have inconvenienced you,' when she wakes up…_

"Yu-chan really is adorable like that. Almost like a doll or a little sister." Mibuchi admired.

"Not my business." Nebuya said, continuing to wolf down several snacks.

"How can you eat all that? We just finished the Cultural Festival! That's gross!" Mibuchi scolded once again.

"Adorable?" Akashi parroted, looking at her. "Well, I'm not obliged to set your opinion straight."

Too worried of what would come about the result of asking, they stayed silent.

Not long after, Mibuchi, Nebuya and Mayuzumi all had reached their stops, leaving just Akashi and Yuki.

He felt Yuki stir on his shoulder. She opened her eyes halfway.

"Ah…?" Realizing the position she was in, she quickly got up, brushed her hair and rubbed her forearm. "I'm sorry to have in—"

"It's fine. Just this once. But… you always do that…"

"Do what?"

"You rub your forearm or brush your hair to the side when you're put in an embarrassing situation."

"Wha—!" Before she got the chance to protest, she instinctively raised her hand to her bangs, before putting it back down. She turned to look out the window. "I see. I was hoping you wouldn't pick up on that, but… it's inevitable now. It's just one slip up. I'll just have to be more aware around you."

"But it's uncontrollable."

"It's not."

He reached for her chin and turned it upwards toward him. Her hand raised to her forearm, but then dropped quickly.

"It is. I'm always right." He smirked and removed his hand. "Ah, but I must commend you for containing any facial expressions you were about to do. Though, you look exhausted."

"… I don't know."

"What?"

"You're odd. I don't know what I feel when I'm with you… I wonder why I have this misty feeling."

"So you—" Akashi stopped. What was it with this girl and making him say his thoughts out loud?

_So you feel that, too?_ Was what he was going to ask, but for some reason, he suddenly decided against it.

Strange, indeed.

"Let's go. Your stop is here." Akashi said, and lead the small doll-like girl off the vehicle.

* * *

***furisode - A furisode is a style of kimono distinguishable by its long sleeves, which range in length from 85 centimeters for a kofurisode to 114 centimeters for an ōfurisode. Furisode are the most formal style of kimono worn by unmarried women in Japan.**

**^^Wikipedia**

**sorry for the long update! i've had soooo much to do in sooo little time. plus we have the student vs teacher basketball game on thursday! but after, i'm planning to get at least two chapters done on march break. however!**

**my viewers, i'm so sorry! since the manga is still ongoing with the rakuzan vs seirin match, even i can't predict with 100% accuracy what akashi's personality will be like after the win/lose. (it _should_ be rakuzan's loss, in the end, because... well, seirin, the main protagonist team, made it that far so...) **

**for example, if he has a confirmed multiple personality, then it could be that the true akashi doesn't share emperor akashi's memories and he's still in middle school. since that's the most unlikely possibility, i'm not going to exactly take it into account. but assuming it was true, my planned storyline would have to deteriorate.**

**or if they switch halfway through, or if he doesn't change, or if he changes at the end.**

**either way, it's too confusing right now, so i can't go to the winter cup match between seirin and rakuzan until that's done.**

**also, depending on akashi's personality, it might change the truth behind yuki's personality/past timing significantly, so i can't progress _there_ either. in fact, i kind of cheated with akashi's small chara change in this chapter. but if it goes wrong, i'll just change that...**

**enough of me droning on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and**

**asdhfl**

**Lura** **Elsworth:**** thanks for reviewing! and the luck!**

**but yuki is noooot a ghost (thank god because if i found out one of my most eccentric friends was a ghost i'd flip out. she seems fake sometimes but... . ... . ... THEORIES.) she's based very roughly on this friend too.**

**thecoldforest:**** happens to the best of us, m'dear. but... i don't think i've ever heard of any character described the way you just did it. the same emotionless outlook like kuroko-san and mayuzumi-san, practical like midorima and smart/deducting like akashi. i didn't even think of it like that. well played, coldforest.**

**as for your question:**

**Akashi - Hm? ... Of course not... she's not a friend at all. just. a. convenient. person. or, perhaps, would you like me to clarify further?**

**... (scary.)**

**and quit spoiling, dammit. even if it's not really a spoiler**

**but it's not _that_ clichee, so...**

**auhagad.**

**Forlorn Dream****: thank you! even just small reviews like yours make my day, mon cherie.**

**just**** reader: great minds think alike, no? well, thanks for reviewing! ^_^**

**-furthermore, i got a silver medal at the chess tournoi. i could've gotten gold, but i gave a win to two other people. if you think i'm lying, ask the lady.**

**whoa this was long.**

**i'll see you next chapter~!**

**-SSB**


	7. Let Me Solve You

**Deductions**

**Chapter Seven: Let Me Solve You**

* * *

A winter-like fall.

The setting sun cast a dark shadow on the the plate-glass windows of a timeworn mansion, veiled by curtains of tapestry. The old Shirazakura House.

The winters of Japan were cold. And how much more so if spent in a mansion, towering for centuries on end...

The gardens that ringed the perimeter of the castle had been skillfully maintained by one woman. The only other inhabitant of that house. But now, in the dead of winter, they were merely a wan shadow of their former glory, fringed by the coppery brown branches of beech trees and bare rose bushes quaking unsteadily, swallowed up by the bleak twilight. The chill of winter spread throughout the approaching darkness.

The silence of the mansion was almost eerie. Mary had been attending something, but Yuki, who had a name as cold as the area surrounding her house, was reading in the book room; a palatial, prodigious room filled with books of different genres.

Shirazakura Yuki had reached a dilemma. Her attitude to people, particularly males, had always been in extreme contrast to the girl who would fall in love easily.

She would, as a lady, have been unfailingly courteous, and at times have shown compassion, but always at a distance. As she had always told herself, Akashi's heart and mind was always an insolvable puzzle.

And her housekeeper and maid, Mary, was a person who would constantly knock on Yuki's door daily to tell her to come out, and invite her to some useless activity to get the brilliant mind to stop focusing on being a shut-in. She had a profound awe and respect for her abilities.

She also had to mind her health. Perhaps it was okay to have Mary baby her once in a while. On occasion, her heartbeat would quicken, worrying the girl. The most obvious conclusion was tachycardia, or tachyarrhythmia*. After all, the festival was only yesterday—the festival of high-calorie foods.

Just then, there was a loud knock.

The unexpected sharp thud of a knock on the door. That kind of knock she had never expected to hear.

It had been several years… since she had last heard a knock on the front door.

Who would be ridiculous enough to knock?

She waited, already aware that Mary would answer the door and tell them that she was in the book room if the door was for her. There's no way that Mary would force her to get up.

Not soon after, there was a noise outside the door.

"—Shirazakura-sama should be in this room. She… doesn't like to be disturbed, but…"

"Ah, thank you." Without waiting for further permission, the visitor walked through the door.

She caught sight of red hair and two different eyes.

"—Akashi… san…"

Actually, at a closer analysis, her tachycardia only came when Akashi was there or if she was thinking about him…

"Yuki." He greeted back. They shared a moment of silence.

"Why did you come? It's cold."

"Why shouldn't I come? The cold isn't a dilemma, and you are my classmate."

"Akashi-san." The girl spoke, and put down her book.

"Yuki?"

"Let me solve you."

That caught Akashi by surprise. "Excuse me?"

"Let me solve you. You, your heterochromatic, dead eyes, everything. This is the only request I'll ever make to you."

He stared at her for a few moments. "Your heartbeat is oddly fast. Is something… wrong?"

She paused, elaborating it. "I originally thought that I could have a minor case of tachycardia, but… now that I think about it, there could be another option… one that relates to feeling… ah, and could that be your special ability?"

"It's only part of it. My special ability is called the Emperor Eye, by my Teiko teammates as well as everyone else."

"Emperor… eye? It sounds like a case of chunnibyou**… but… I can't deny it. They do give off an odd feeling."

"This meeting wasn't only to say hello, but also… we're meeting at the school early tomorrow. Our bus leaves early because the opening ceremony's midday."

"Are we staying there?"

"Yes, we will be."

"I see. Thank you."

"Wear something nice," Akashi said in jest.

"You wear something nice," Shirazakura retorted childishly as Akashi left.

* * *

When Akashi left the room abundant with knowledge, he was met by the maid.

"Forgive me for asking, but... how did you do it?"

Mary, was it? Akashi didn't quite understand the question. "Pardon me?"

"For days on end, she would stay in the rooms, hardly uttering a word from morning to night. I would never have dreamed of her going outside again, much less to a high school. Though I still don't understand it, why did she stay? She's not a social person, and she's also small, and never tells anyone what she truly thinks or feels... not since back then."

"'Back then'… are you referring to her parents' trip overseas?"

Mary looked surprised. "She hasn't told you... I see. Then, I can't tell you anything more."

Though Akashi wanted to press her for information, he decided against it.

"Did something happen to Yuki's parents?" Akashi asked.

"Well… that's…" the maid looked to the side, indicating that Akashi had hit the nail on it's head. "Yes, but that was a long time ago. They certainly are still overseas, however."

What was Yuki hiding—something so discreet that even the maid wouldn't tell a thing.

"…How long have her parents been away?"

The maid didn't answer the question. "It's been wonderful having you here. I hope you come again in the future… and take that brilliant mind outdoors." With that, the red head left the house.

* * *

The next morning, it was far warmer than the previous. The strange thing about fall in Kyoto that year was the ever-changing weather. One day it would be a modern-day ice age, and the next a sweltering rainforest.

Akashi had went to the Shirazakura household early that day to fetch the girl, who would always forget and ignore things that didn't pique her interest.

Akashi and Shirazakura were engaged in an argument in front of the house.

"…Why did you have to bring so much luggage? I'm decently variable, but this is too much, Yuki."

"This brain of mine has exhausted its intellectual powers to determine the absolute minimum necessary to carry … for travel…" Shirazakura's voice trailed off sheepishly.

Akashi he pointed at the suitcase, twice her size, that she had set on the ground. "Why is such a huge amount of luggage necessary for a day trip in a bus and hotel? It's almost like you're running away from home. This is big enough for the both of us to fit inside."

"If I say it's required, then it's required!" Shirazakura stubbornly insisted.

But Akashi wouldn't back down either. "But why do you need more luggage than I brought? Anyway, Yuki. Are you going to carry this all by yourself?"

"Of course not."

"Then…?"

"Nebuya-sempai is going to carry it. To make use of his unnecessarily large strength."

Akashi sighed in exhaustion. He opened the huge suitcase and began to inspect the contents, brushing off Shirazakura's fretful attempts to stop him. She protested, "You can't just open someone's luggage without their permission…" and followed up with, "This is a violation of my privacy!" and so on and so forth, but Akashi wouldn't listen.

"You don't need these… and… not this whole pile of outfits. Hmm… Why would you bring a set of tableware? And a chair? What are you, a refugee?"

In the end, Yuki was left with only a single bag of a size that she could comfortably carry on her small shoulders, and the two of them were finally ready to peacefully set off on their journey. Akashi entrusted the huge suitcase to Mary, and began walking toward the school.

"Akashi-san, a man like you is nothing more than…" Yuki spoke in a tone of disappointment, but didn't finish.

"That's not true."

"They say that traveling tests the bonds of friendship, and even good friends may discover unexpected flaws in each other…"

* * *

"Alright. Is everyone here?" Shirogane Eiji, the head coach called, and started a rollcall to check for members before they headed onto the bus.

When they got on, they organized the seats in strings—first string members, as well as the coaches and managers sat in the front seats, meanwhile other strings sat further back.

The bus carrying the basketball members began to accelerate, leaving the school behind it…

Shirazakura sat near the window, her black hair whipped by the wind into a puffy shape resembling cotton candy. Her hazel eyes stared wide in amazement.

The bus gradually picked up speed.

Standing figures rapidly sped by, until the eye could no longer follow them.

Sitting on the bus together again, all the boys were suspicious of why Shirazakura looked so annoyed and why Akashi looked so exasperated.

Then Akashi said, "Why did you have to bring so much money with you?"

"Because it's required."

"You don't need that much. If people were to see you carrying around a wallet like that, pickpockets would make you their new best friend. It was startling… Yuki?"

Yuki pressed her small hands to the window frame like a child, riveted by the scenery.

Akashi took a hesitant peek at her face. He worried that she might be angry after being lectured by him all morning long, but she showed no signs of anger, and merely stared outside of the window in awe, her hazel eyes opened wide. Buildings and roads slowly multiplied, transforming into city streets. The bus departed the place where the school was located, and approached the towns.

Shirazakura took in the changing sights feverishly. On occasion, she would shift her gaze to the bus wheels, or the lights on the back.

_She looks like someone who's never been on a bus before…_ Akashi stayed silent, and kept idle watch on Yuki, who stared out of the window hungrily.

Their final destination was a large city.

The others filed out the bus and into the metropolis. Someone could easily get lost in this place unless they were careful.

At this urban bus stop where countless people crossed paths, crowds of travelers came and went on the various platforms. But there were few children in sight. From time to time, the adults passing through would look curiously upon Rakuzan school, which had emitted an absolutely emperor-like aura.

Yuki stood on the platform and restlessly examined her surroundings. The manager finally located the direction they were supposed to go to, and the other first string members tried to lead Yuki there, but she kept darting about deliriously, beside herself with curiosity, and it was quite impossible to move her along. Akashi took hold of her hand firmly.

"Don't slip away from me, Yuki."

Shirazakura said nothing, and continued to swing her head around dizzily. Whenever she discovered something unfamiliar, she would ask, "What's that?"

"That's an ice cream shop." Nebuya answered.

"What about that?"

"A newsstand. Hey, walk straight, or you'll get trampled on." Akashi pulled her closer, dodging a biker who had been careless.

The wide street was divided into several lanes where bikes and automobiles sped through without stopping. The sidewalks overflowed with people, deftly navigating the intersecting bikes and cars with sure steps, or boarding busses and taxis. Eye-catching storefronts lined the sidewalks, bedecking the windows with extravagant pastries, dresses, hats, and folding fans.

After a while. A few four-wheeled taxis came up, and pulled over in front of them.

Yuki was amazed. "…Was that magic?"

"The coach called them earlier. Come on, get in."

Once they climbed into the taxi, Yuki turned her head to the window, and continued to observe the people and buildings passing by, as if she were seeing something very unusual. The clack informed the driver of their destination, and then Mibuchi asked Shirazakura, "Say, Yu-chan… You don't get out much, do you?"

She didn't reply. But they thought they saw the look on her face suddenly darken, and decided against asking anything more.

By the time they reached the Tokyo Metropolian Gymnasium, the members were already completely drained of energy.

* * *

After the opening ceremony of the Winter Cup, Yuki saw Akashi on his cellphone.

"What are you doing?" She asked him, seeing his texts send. "To _Midori_ma Shintaro, _Ki_se Ryota, _Murasaki_bara Atsushi, _Kuro_ko Tetsuya, and _Ao_mine Daiki… From _Aka_shi Seijuro… Akashi-san, is this a joke?***"

Akashi laughed. "No, those are our valid names… they're my old teammates from Teiko, the 'Generation of Miracles'…"

"How coincidental."

Akashi then started to leave.

"Akashi, where are you going?" Coach Shirogane asked.

"To see my old teammates." He replied.

"Hm… okay. Shirazakura, you should go with him."

"No, it's not necessary. This seems like something Akashi has to do with just them." The doll-like girl said.

They stared at her for a moment as Akashi left. When he was distanced, she began walking away.

"Where are you going?" Mibuchi asked.

"With Akashi."

"Didn't you just say…"

"I'm not going to get involved. I'm giving him his space to do what he needs to do—but I still will watch him."

* * *

The moment Shirazakura was in close proximity to the Generation of Miracles altogether, her feelings of unease intensified.

"Sorry. I've kept you waiting."

The instant they laid eyes on Akashi, everyone immediately felt intimidated.

"Akashi-kun." The boy with the weakest presence there said.

"Daiki, Ryota, Shintaro, Atsushi, and Tetsuya…" Akashi began speaking to the others, seemingly oblivious to Yuki's presence. "I'm happy to see you again. The fact that we're all gathered here… is very touching. But… there's someone who shouldn't be here. Right now, I only want to talk to my comrades. Sorry, but can you leave?"

For a moment, it felt as though he was including Shirazakura in his comment.

"Come on, that's cold. Don't leave him out of the loop." The voice spoke suddenly, and showed a young man with a presence that had the ferocity of a tiger's. He held his hand inclusively on the boy's shoulder.

"Kagami!" The saved soul exclaimed.

"Yup, I'm back. But we can save that for later." He turned towards the Emperor-like figure above, a determined face as though ready to meet a challenge. "So you're Akashi… glad to meet you."

Akashi began walking down the steps. "Shintaro, can I borrow those scissors?"

"What do you need them for?" Despite asking for a reason, he already handed the scissors over, believing Akashi had a valid reason.

"My hair's bothering me. I was just thinking about cutting it. But before that…" he turned to face the person addressed as Kagami. "You're Kagami-kun, right?"

Quicker than predicted, Akashi held the scissors in a slashing motion, grazing Kagami's cheek.

"Wow." Akashi gave a smile with no hostility. However, everyone believed there was something malicious behind that smile. "Good job dodging that. For moving like that, I'll forgive you this time. But there won't be a next time. If I say leave, then leave. In this world, winning is everything; winners are validated and losers are denied." He began cutting his hair with the scissors. "Until now, I've never lost at anything, and I won't in the future. Since I always win, I'm always right. If you oppose me, I'll kill you, no matter who you are."

With those words, Akashi turned his back to them. "Well then, I'll get going. We're done for the day."

"Huh?! Akashi, don't give me that! You made us come here just for that?!" The one with dark, navy hair protested.

"No… actually, I wanted to check one thing, but looking at everyone's faces made me realize that it's not necessary. It seems like no one has forgotten… our oath back then. So it's all good. The next time we'll meet will be in battle." With that, he left the others in awe.

"Akashi-san…" a gentle voice wrung behind him.

"Ah, Yuki. Were you here the whole time?"

"… Your eyes."

"This again?"

"No. I don't like it. I can't tell if they're dead or alive whenever it comes to basketball."

"Then, which one of my teammates are dead and alive?"

"If I'm going to go from name, then it would be Kise-san, Midorima-san and Kuroko-san seem alive. However, Aomine-san and Murasakibara-san don't. Earlier, I said you looked the least alive and happy out of anyone. However, if I had to say, they're equally so."

"…Hm."

If he put it under further speculation, Ryota, Shintaro and Tetsuya had all faced defeat, while Daiki and Atsushi hadn't.

"I will be watching the match between Tōō and Seirin." Akashi stated.

"It's unusual for you to take an interest. You've been content just winning all your matches up until now."

"Perhaps… but this is a match I certainly want to see… Tetsuya, our unusual, unpredictable, 'Phantom Sixth Man…'"

"Then, I will be looking forward to it."

* * *

****At the end of the first match of the Winter Cup, Seirin had won.

Akashi was grinning. The type of grin where you couldn't discern whether it showed the smile of a maniac, a genius, or both. "This is just like Tetsuya… to do this sort of surprising act."

After not hearing a response from Yuki, he examined her closer, but he could not see her face that was currently hidden under her bangs.

However, with his Emperor Eye, Akashi could tell one thing.

"…Yuki, are you… smiling?"

"Not at all." Her reply was instantaneous as she lifted her head with her usual poker face on it. She averted her face again. "If I was… it would have been the change in Aomine-san. Besides that…" she turned to Akashi, and pointed a single finger at his hair. "I ignored it up until now, but your hair… really does look different like this."

"For a matter of hair, when you first transferred, you tied your hair up, even though it wasn't your preference at all. Think of it like that."

"I know. I liked it more before, but I think Akashi still looks good now."

For a moment, Akashi's lightning-fast thought process slowed.

All because of that one girl.

He turned away. "Whatever the case, it's not my problem if you don't like it or you do. I'm going."

"Taiga-san just came back from America. He probably trained there a lot."

"First-name basis?" Even though she had told him crucial information, he felt that that was the largest point. Was it… no. Not at all.

"Yes. Since he's from America, I thought it would be more congenial for me to call him Taiga. I knew he was training there because he appeared to be late coming here, so he still had a paper stuffed in his right pocket. I couldn't read it, but he also said, 'I'm back.' So I concluded that the paper was a plane ticket that he was in a rush to go to, so that he could make it in time for the Seirin versus Tōō match… since he's the ace of the team, because of that other person's elated and surprised reaction. Lastly, I knew he was in America because he was a man of basketball, with the street familiarity, and an impolite manner. This manner is unnecessary in America, so clearly playing street basketball."

"…Hm. Interesting."

"Akashi-san, please stop smiling like that."

"Either way, it'd be best to go now. The crowd will be catching up and it'll become more troublesome to leave, soon."

"I wonder if Akashi-san will also change if we lost against Seirin… ah, but I don't plan to lose on purpose."

"Then it's fine."

And with that, so ended the first day of the tournament.

* * *

**MY DEAREST APOLOGIES.**

**i'm sorry, i really am. i mean, it's not like me to be late, especially during march break when i don't even have an excuse but gah no!**

**okay, i've sorta calmed down. **

**what i'm actually planning on doing is slowing down the updates due to the reason i can't write the rakuzan vs seirin match because it's not done yet. i can bet you there'll be some afterstory too for it, because... well, it's the great 'final match' against the emperor and the phantom.**

**so instead of skipping it, which i really don't want to do because it's 3/4 or 4/4ths done (the quarter they're in.. but it wouldn't be 4/4ths, it would be like a compound fraction with 3 and 1/10/4ths...)**

**sorry.**

***tachycardia: ****Tachycardia** is a heart rate that exceeds the normal range. In general, a resting heart rate over 100 beats per minute is accepted as tachycardia. -Wikipedia

****chunnibyou: NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE ANIME, chunnibyou is a Japanese slang term which roughly translates to "Middle School 2nd Year Syndrome". People with chuunibyou either act like a know-it-all adult and look down on real ones, or believe they have special powers unlike others. -urban dictionary**

**(coincidentally, akashi gained the Emperor Eye in the second year of middle school...)**

*****if you didn't know... the generation of miracles all have last names that match their hair color.**

**yeah.**

******I _will_, or at least should be, narrating other matches. I just didn't do this one for various reasons.**

**1. Rakuzan isn't even playing.  
Akashi literally shows up two, three, four or five times during this match just to put either his input or face in. **

**2. the chapter would be too long.  
it's labeled about 3,298 words minus the a/n. that would be too much for little old me.**

**3. i'm lazy  
**

**ahem.**

**natchrisl: thank you~! i'm going onto the nationals on april 14th.  
**

**a-about the development...**

**"""OTL ... i'm aware... i'm already kinda amateurish, and i'm already gaining chunnibyou myself, which will probably put me on hiatus... and my siblings...**

**aaaaaaaaaaaaah!**

**but anyway...**

**...**

**thank you for reviewing, despite my actions i do really like constructive criticism in any activity. i might seem like the modest type, but i'm not... huh? the two things i said just now contradict each other? you might be onto something.**

**but no really thank you.**

**Lura Elsworth****: true. but i still don't know the result, so i'm dying for it. i legit almost hit a classmate in the face with my ipod saying "why isn't there a new chapter?!"**

**true facts.**

**thank you for your continued supporrrt.**

**thecoldforest: (it is a compliment.) **

**Akashi: "It's obviously just... a simple dilemma. Time will pass, and soon it'll be forgotten. But then again..." ...**

**Yuki: "Actually, I think that for Akashi-san, everything has a base so getting close would be difficult initially, as he doesn't see the need for emotional connection. His engagement tends to come via intellectual arguments with like-minded people. For him, emotion doesn't compute and so they may not understand their impact on others or indeed gauge the emotional reactions of others, which makes appear as insensitive or a little cold. He's private and can often be naturally impassive as well, which makes him easy to misunderstand. He's intellectually curious and loves complex problems and analyzing data to and come up with unique solutions, driven more by concepts and abstract ideas than by the emotions of people."**

**Akashi: "Yuki?"**

**Anyway.**

**Her reaction to the glomping would be something like, "what is this person doing? for what reason? could what she thinks actually be false? no, it seems quite honest... perhaps they're trying to exact physical violence on me? what to do..."**

**as for the accidental sending, don't worry. it happens all the time. for example, on facebook mobile, if you don't send anything, if you accidentally press the "send" button, it automatically turns into a Like symbol. my friend told me of an incident he had where the conversation went like this:**

**person1: grandma just died. :(((**

**person2: (like)**

**yeah. it took a bit of sorting out.**

**dude my answer length is way longer than you, no need to apologize.**

**i'm sorry.**

**but i'll see you next time. though i said it'll take long, it won't be too too long. probably. plus, i still have the shutoku match so we're good~!**

**Guest****: Kawaii, desu ne? Thanks for reviewing!**

**asunnynight: does your name refer to the stars? or is it just meant to sound cool? **

**yuki's probably an M/C. probably.**

**I DON'T KNOW ANYMORE K DON'T JUDGE ME.**

**i have issues.**

**and... looks like someone found the easter egg(even though it's not easter!)! yes, yuki means snow and if you connect it to her last name it's yuki shirazakura or snow white sakura/cherry blossom. **

**and yes, her favorite snack is an apple... for valid, odd reasons.**

**yes i know i have grammar issues too. i'm trying to improve too.**

**Character Bible would look something like: **

**Her alternate job choice is to be a detective**

**Her hobbies are reading.**

**Her specialty is white puzzles  
**

**Her favourite food is Strawberry Risotto.**

**Her motto is, "Trick your own heart."**

**She hates horses because, as said by Arthur Conan Doyle himself, they're "_dangerous on both ends and crafty in the middle. Why would I ever ride something with a mind of it's own_?"**

**Her type of guy is someone who makes sense.**

**I'll see you all next time! Signing out!**

**-SSB**


	8. I Can't Change It

**Deductions**

**Chapter Eight: I Can't Change It**

* * *

"A game against Midorima Shintaro?"

After Yuki who was sitting on the bench finished saying, she looked normal as ever. It was quite an accomplishment for her not to show her surprise.

It was an expected response. After Akashi and the others had sat down, Yuki started to grumble:

"I really cannot understand the mental structure of your mind. Compared with your brain, 'Finnegans Wake*' is easier to understand. Deciding the results with a game with a 100% accuracy shooter? If your aim is to increase your intelligence by getting sweaty, it would be better if I just introduce you to a person who specializes in exercise."

Since the team couldn't explain, it was even harder for them to say anything. "Did you read the translated version of 'Finnegans Wake'?" Hayama asked.

"Of course it's the original one. And don't change the topic!"

Yuki hit the bench in annoyance. _Why did it seem that it was easier for her to get angry these days? What's wrong?_ The others thought this kind of thing.

"Listen, in your knowledge, Midorima-san is an astounding shooter with a irresistible ridiculous tendency for following horoscopes." Was that wrong? "Change your opinion of him, please. If we were to assume that he started passing instead of shooting, it would be the worst predicament whatsoever for us. Though the footage was what gave us our information, you shouldn't expect his ability to only shoot. You should know that everything—especially a select few on the team, will be far more difficult?"

Akashi finally spoke. "I understand that."

"You don't understand! Midorima-san can shoot anywhere, at any time. You know that, as his teammate, correct?"

He stared at Yuki whose tone of voice betrayed her poker face. "Are you worried about me?"

"Who… who's worried about you?" her hair even stood up as though it went through an electric current. Recently, since the Winter Cup had started, her irritable attitude had become more evident, and sometimes she would have random outbursts of it. Though her surroundings and tone of voice would change, her face would continuously be calm, only sometimes closing her eyes in her annoyance. "Who'll be worried about your things! Why must I worry about you? I just couldn't forgive your actions. As for the others, it's so despairing that even touching the Monolith** seventy thousand times couldn't raise your intelligence to the level of —" Akashi caught hold of Yuki's wrists so that she would calm down.

"Erm… Sorry for always acting like an idiot?" Nebuya said.

"If you have the time to apologize, then don't keep doing dangerous but meaningless things every time! Also, I'm not worried."

Yuki's hands were tightly held by his, but she managed not to think about it by not looking at it.

"You're my close acquaintances, and the more terrible thing is that I only have few close acquaintances, and don't even have a replacement… But you all like to act tough every time!"

Akashi's answer was almost like a sigh. And then, he let go of Yuki's hands, lightly patting her hair.

"In any case, there is no way we will lose to them."

"Just because of that? My intuition is telling me that we'll lose sometime soon! There should be a more intelligent solution!"

"There isn't. I am absolute. To prove it, I will promise it. I won't lose to Shutoku."

"…Whatever, do as you like."

Yuki pushed him away with her head lowered, then turned her head to the side, ignoring the basketball team's presence.

"Though I obviously have a lot of school work piled up… I really don't have the energy to scold you anymore."

But he did as he liked this time, it was understandable that Yuki was irritable.

Should he still apologize to her when things ended? Would she even forgive him?

Or—

Thinking about this wouldn't help things at all. No—why had the thought even crossed his mind? As he was about to leave the room and walk to the stadium—

"And are you planning to go after you finished speaking of your things? I still have matters to explain to you."

"Ah. That's right." Akashi suppressed the urge of his mouth curling, and walked back to the bench.

Though her composure always quickly regained itself, Yuki explained to the team the long-winded work contents while being calm, as usual.

* * *

Rakuzan had several consecutive wins. In fact, even before Akashi had joined, they weren't a team that lost easily. However, no one could possibly put a finger on why Yuki had been so worried.

As soon as Shutoku came out, the announcer began his narration.

"—Here comes! Among the Tokyo representatives that's been overthrown by the rookies, Tōō and Seirin, it is the only school that did not lose it's throne! The veteran who's been competing for eleven years straight with it's immobile, immortal spirit that rings true to it's name… Legendary King, Shutoku High school!"

Everyone on the opponent's team looked more than ready to go. However, fixed in their sights as the only one who was a threat was Midorima Shintaro.

Furthermore, out of the whole team that was pumped, he also seemed quite serious. He focused his gaze at the school who would be playing against them…

"And… here comes… the number one high school…! The school that has been playing in every winter cup eer since it's founding tournament. It's championships are unmatched. The oldest and the strongest king, Emperor of Creation, Rakuzan High School!"

The familiar mantra of cheers for both teams roared from the stands.

Yuki sat down while the other boys affronted the team.

Nebuya gave out a belch, and scratched the back of his neck. "Um… I ate too much gyudon."

"That's gross! And what were you thinking eating that much right before the match?" Mibuchi scowled, living up to his title of 'Reo-nee.'

"You see, I get my strength from meat."

Hayama suddenly spoke up, who was so excited that he seemed to sparkle. Making a beckoning hand gesture, he shouted, "Anyway, look, look. Look at them! We're screwed! They look super strong! For real!"

Turning over to Akashi, ignoring Reo's grumble on how annoying he was, he shouted, "Hey~, Akashi!"

"Yeah, they're strong." He replied, finishing tying the lace on his shoe.

"Eh? Sei-chan, you're a starter today?" Reo asked him.

"Coach approved already."

"Hm… that's nice. Our opponents so far have been too lame. I should've eaten a bit more." Nebuya said, grinning.

A first year came over. "I placed your towel right there." He told Akashi, and pointed to a chair.

"Ahh…"

As he was about to get up, something pulled on his wrist.

"… Good luck… Akashi-san…"

Despite knowing that he shouldn't let his personal feelings surface, especially during a match, he couldn't help but smile. "Then, let's go."

Akashi looked at Midorima straight on.

"I'll be the one to win, Akashi." Midorima boldly declared.

"That's impossible, Shintaro." The point guard smiled back, as though accepting the declaration of war. "Was there even a single match where you managed to make me surrender?"

Midorima made a more focused eye contact with him. "Shogi and basketball are different."

"It's the same. There was never a single time when I said anything wrong."

The look in Akashi's eyes changed, and his Emperor Eye seemed to glow. "I, who wins everything, am always right."

The announcer spoke up once both teams were lined up.

"Then, we will now start the first match of the winter cup semi-finals. We will commence the match between Rakuzan High School and Shutoku High School. Bow!"

"Let's have a good match!" Both teams said simultaneously, before starting with the Tip-Off.

The whole crowd's cheers, which were held in anticipation of the tip off, were freed when Shutoku started. The point guard, Kazunari Takao, charged at Hayama.

"Here I co—!" He seemed straight and ready to go right away, before flipping the ball over his hand. "Just kiddin'."

"Wha—?!" Hayama said, failing to keep his cheerful expression on. _Crap… already…?!_

Meanwhile, the receiver, Midorima was already preparing to shoot. "'I'm always right'? Don't make me laugh, Akashi."

Akashi, though looking surprised, turned to a Midorima in shooting form. "Don't talk as if you know everything, when all you've had was victory."

Both Mibuchi and Nebuya only could stare as he reached the top of his vertical and threw the ball to the atmosphere of the stadium.

"Ohh, he made it?! Quick attack right from the start!" Those words were blaring from all around.

"Come, Akashi. As promised, I'll teach you defeat."

Akashi, who had been carefully observing up until now, finally saw part of what Yuki had been so worried about.

"Hmm…"

Though he knew they must have had more up their sleeve, he was thoroughly interested.

_Teach me defeat?_

If that happened, would he be devastated? Or glad? Those thoughts wrung in his mind before coming to a decision.

It doesn't matter. Because he would win, regardless of feelings.

* * *

"Completely untouched three-pointer! You can't even hear the ball scratch the ring! He's a machine!"

As seen in the video, Midorima was flawlessly shooting the ball in the netting. And, at the end of the first quarter, the two teams were at a tie.

"And that's it for the first quarter. A calm back and forth battle, but very high-leveled…! The king and emperor are equally matched!"

Meanwhile, on the bench, Shirogane looked down at everyone.

"It's going well. There'll be no changes to our original game plan. I'll entrust you with small details of each game play. If there need to be changes, follow Akashi's orders."

"Yes, Sir!" The team shouted, moments before the announcer signified the end of break.

"Don't look down on us, Akashi. Scouting for the first full quarter? You seem to be taking it pretty easy so far. Don't tell me you believe you can win without even using your 'eyes'?" Midorima looked angry after confronting Akashi.

Akashi had made a conclusion. It looked like this wasn't anything special. "I'm not looking down on you at all. In fact, I'm as cautious as ever. I can't be revealing my trump card that easily… however, at this rate, the game might end without me even needing to."

"… What did you say?"

* * *

The score was 51-71, in Rakuzan's favor. The majority of the boys on the team had all given up on Yuki's worry at the beginning of the match, but they could all sense something.

The accurate shooter was trying to do something.

_Shintaro._

_If they plan to pressure us, Midorima's three-pointers are indispensable… but… as long as Akashi's here, it's impossible…!_ Hayama noted, while playing a ready guard for Shutoku's attack, which was giving the school only ten seconds left.

The clock sped down to three. Whatever they were doing was going to be a definite gamble.

At that moment—

Midorima took a shooting position, despite the ball still being in Takao's hands.

_…It's not possible. What is he doing?!_ Akashi thought, as Takao passed the ball to Midorima's hands, which were already prepared to shoot.

Everyone stared in shock at Midorima, and the ball that had gone straight through the net, not even hitting the rim.

"WHOAH, WHAT WAS THAT?! He caught it in midair and went straight on to a three-pointer… is that even possible?!" The speakers radiated the thoughts everyone had.

Meanwhile, as the plays continued, even Nebuya was beginning to lose in rebounds. The passes to Midorima continued, and Shutoku began to catch up. However, what Midorima was doing right then was ridiculous.

"Don't misunderstand, Akashi. Shutoku's not over yet. The real game starts now."

Akashi grinned. At both the fact that Yuki's worry was valid, and at the new challenge he had just presented. "This is beyond my expectations, Shintaro. That's how it should be."

* * *

The point difference was rapidly decreasing, and now Shutoku had caught up to 71-60.

However, through all this, Akashi just sighed.

And then made a shot in his own hoop.

"Akashi-sa—!" Yuki shouted, but stopped speaking. Akashi wouldn't be stupid. Rash, but not idiotic.

"Akashi…" Mibuchi said wearily. The whole team trusted Akashi to a great extent, but after what he just did, it was questionable.

"When did I tell you that you could relax? The match is not over yet." He said, a serious and stern look in his eye. "The temporary point difference has made you slack off in the match. Even a few consecutive goals have made you uneasy. If the point difference had been smaller, we wouldn't have displayed such unsightly plays. It would be better if we didn't have an advantage at all. Cool yourselves off a little."

Everyone knew that Akashi was serious.

"However," he continued, "if we lose, my own goal just now would be the reason. You can blame me as much as you like. I will take responsibility and quit the club immediately. As symbol of my atonement…" he held out his hand as he radiated an extreme aura. "I will gouge out both of my eyes, and give them to you."

Yuki, who was sitting on the bench, widened her eyes for only a moment. They lowered to a stare quickly after. _I see… I knew…_

"What are you saying, Akashi?! There's no reason to go that far!" Hayama shouted.

"It's only if we lose. There is no problem if we win. I am not worried, because I have confidence. There is no way we could lose to you guys." Akashi said, smiling.

Either way, it had an affect as encouragement. The Rakuzan players looked more serious.

_Akashi-san, you… don't long for victory._

* * *

As the plays continued, everyone believed that Shutoku still had a chance. Akashi then spoke.

"No, it's unfortunate really. The match has already ended. Let me tell you this: You will no longer be able to even touch the ball."

"What did you say…?! It's impossible, Akashi. Even with your Emperor eye, you can't stop our shots!" Midorima said. Though he was guaranteed it was unstoppable, the look in his eyes sensed that Akashi was serious

"It is true that height is a crucial factor when it comes to basketball. At first glance, it looks unstoppable… but let me educate you. I am absolute. I can see the entirety of the future. It is but a simple matter to change it."

The plays continued, and as Takao got past the double-team set on him, Midorima was already in position. However…

"Did you not hear me? I am absolute."

Akashi had already stopped the ball and was looking at Takao. After the steal, Akashi did a layup.

And, at that moment, Kazunari Takao and Midorima Shintaro realized it.

"I couldn't have guessed… that we had already fallen into your trap."

"It's beyond my expectations, but not beyond what I can imagine. Shogi and basketball, they're all the same. Didn't I always tell you? A strategic move only works when you plan ahead without your opponent becoming aware of it."

The realized that everything up until then was all part of Akashi's plan.

* * *

"Time's up!" The announcer yelled at last. The board showed an 86-70 point difference.

"Rakuzan High School wins 86 to 70! Bow!"

"Thank you very much!" The starters said to the opposing team.

After everyone began to pack up and leave, Shintaro confronted Akashi.

"Shintaro," Akashi greeted.

Midorima shut his eyes tightly, as if contemplating something. Then, he held out his hand. "I lost. But bed time, I will… Shutoku will win…!" Though the prideful man was practically handing Akashi his admitted defeat, he had a fair game. He accepted that, and decided to determinedly look at Akashi.

"Let me express my gratitude, Shintaro. It has been a while since I played such a thrilling game… however, I apologize, but I cannot accept your handshake." Akashi said firmly. "If you crave victory, become less passionate. _Victory_ is everything. I want to be your enemy."

Midorima hesitated. "I see. You haven't changed, Akashi… from back then. But even so, we will win next time."

* * *

Yuki had told the Coach that she was watching Kaijo's game against Seirin. She had caught him while talking to the team, so he agreed without any thought, and then had proceeded with his overview that Akashi had joined with halfway through.

Of course, after they had finished, they immediately asked where Yuki had gone.

* * *

He had found her in the hallway, not far from the rooms.

She hasn't noticed him until the last second, and almost ran into him.

_Isn't that strange? Yuki's perceptual vision is very high…_ Akashi noted, but felt a sense of relief after seeing her come in.

She looked up quickly, and her eyes were somewhat surprised, and yet the whole expression of her face showed her deep in thought.

"—Akashi-san…?" He couldn't even fathom what the girl was thinking about in those moments.

"…You're still wearing your clothes from today. You just came back from the game…" He noted.

Akashi, himself, was wearing much looser clothing than his usual, of which was normally considered nightwear, oddly in contrast to Yuki's formal wear. However… Shirazakura looked… shaken.

She broke the silence. "—I spoke with Kuroko-san."

His eyes widened slightly. If she spoke with him, the only thing she would have taken time to ask him about would be… his middle school days. Despite that, he didn't feel that her perturbed feeling came from him.

"It's not that late, so it's fine. But none the less…"

"—It wasn't intentional for it to be this late, but could we have a talk, after I get changed?" She asked him.

"… I'm not a sympathetic person, as you know… if you still wish to continue this, then I shall allow it."

"I want to know what you believe the others perceived about your days in middle school."

* * *

Yuki's sleek hair flowing on the bench, and was wearing pale blue pajamas with pictures of cartoon animals on it. She placed her stuffed dog on her knee. The blackness that lingered in her eyes—was a color that anyone who once looked at the sky alone in a silent night saw it before.

Thus, he told her about all that had occurred, including the fact that Akashi had acted differently during middle school until the one on one with Murasakibara. Those were not coincidences at all. It was certain that they would split up, regardless of his change or not.

Being close friends in the past…

Even after he spoke of what he knew, Yuki still maintained the silence for quite some time. The stuffed animal that made her seem all the more childish was clamped between her knees, thus being flattened and changing shape. Her gaze contained neither reproach nor lament—

It was just understanding.

She took out a red bottle so cold that it almost stuck onto her fingers from the vending machine, and after taking a drink, she did something that she never once did to him before.

After taking a sip, she reached in her bag and retrieved another energy drink and handed it to him.

After a long, cold silence, Yuki finally spoke.

"Do you want some?"

He couldn't speak. After drinking a small sip of the beverage, he drank the remaining in one go.

He sat down while holding the bottle, feeling oddly, and couldn't look into her eyes at all.

"…Thank you."

"I don't understand, fully… but I have some parts of it. I won't say it, because I don't have all the information."

"Why do you seem so… uneasy?"

"…No matter how hard I try to deny what happened, or lie to myself about it, in reality, it is still very limited, after all. I can't change it." That moment, a trace of moistness finally surfaced in Yuki's eyes. "And you are a part of that limited world."

Just when he thought he had her figured out, it was exactly something she would do to throw him off track again.

But—more importantly…

The girl who showed so little emotion, who seemed so incredibly stoic… she was then…

"Yuki…?" He froze.

Yuki had pressed herself forcefully onto his side, wrapped her arms around him, and shook her head while holding on to him. He turned his head over, and he could see that she looked even more terrible.

She separated, and they were speechless. After a moment, the stars in the two eyes started to waver. After that, she swayed her long hair, having her back to him yet again.

This feeling he simply couldn't stomach.

Perhaps this was something similar to what was frustrating Yuki so much lately.

It was almost as if it was the realization of the thing he hated had also became the thing he liked.

He wasn't good at this kind of thing. Perhaps he would ask Mibuchi about it.

Either way, it felt as though if he'd leave, she'd break. Though it may have been proper find out the truth and tell her, she truly felt exactly like a porcelain doll—something fragile. Though, why?

"I'm… a bit tired, so I'll be going to my room for now…" she said. She hadn't been crying, and yet her eyes showed a completely different image than her stoic expression.

"I'll walk you there," Akashi said, standing up and leading her to her room. Normally, she would have spoke to him along the way, but this time she had refused. Even when he tried to initiate conversation, she concluded every single one with the quickest route possible.

—He was worried for her.

"… Yuki?" He called out that without turning.

"What is it?"

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

After a few moments, in front of Shirazakura's hotel room, Akashi spoke up. "I don't find it appealing when someone is undignified. However… it would be fine to listen to what's on your mind."

"Thank you… but it's not something I can tell. I was just… reminded of something. You should focus on your matches; not me. Next up will be Seirin versus Rakuzan."

"We still have some time," Akashi said, and his heterochromatic eyes pierced her hazel ones.

"I—" A few words flashed on his mind, but disappeared quickly. "Good night, Yuki."

"Sleep well…" a phrase no one would have ever predicted Yuki to say inadvertently left her lips, and Akashi looked at her in surprise.

"What…?"

"No, it's… nothing in particular…" Akashi said, the look in his eyes intrigued. "Again, good night." With that sentence, he left.

* * *

**HAHAHAHA i'm alive~!**

**i deserve no forgiveness.**

**but i really am so sorry. just... /shot**

**i'm sorry about the super-late update! i've been so busy lately.**

**also, i might be late on the update or add useless chapters since seirin vs rakuzan _still_ isn't done.**

***Finnegan's Wake: Finnegans Wake is a novel by Irish writer James Joyce which is significant for its experimental style and the resulting reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the English language. #wikipedia**

****Monolith: An object that helped primates to evolve into intelligent beings in the movie _2001: A Space Odyssey._**

_**telsykora:**_** just realized. put it in the first chapter.**

_**Lura Elsworth:**_** YES. those bangs were amazing. but you know, whatever... floats... his boat... i guess?**

**even if i say that i really would rather have him with his long bangs. those were good.**

_**Crystal Flower of Solitude:**_** is this the development you were looking for?**

**i can't develop too much, as stated previously, until the end of the seirin match. and since i'm still too cowardly to trust my intuition completely (even though, so far, it has always been right...) i cannot advance too far with either. but you will find out. and if it takes too long i'm going to just skip it.**

**_thecoldforest_: it's so nice to be talking to you again. and yes, in a compact form, that's what she's saying!**

**Yuki: oh... is that so. well, it is true that you don't seem like a bad person. that's what my intuition is telling me... ****But... I... I don't... I don't exactly... love akashi-san. well... it's true that i don't... . let me think about this... what i 'hate' turns into what i 'love', then that would explain... and if i deny it, then i'd confirm it as true. then, very well... i shall consider it. but it isn't a likely possibility.**

**Akashi: i... wasn't doing that for her sake. it's simply the most efficient way to complete my goals. i... admit i was... caught off guard with her ridiculous request. for the fact about tokyo, i... that was just because she's an essential part to the team. she has insight, which is favorable for success. also, i figured she would do something ridiculous like that, so it's only natural that i help her. and... i wasn't worried about her and my hair. after all, it's a matter of opinion... i was just surprised that she said words such as those. **

_**tsun.**_

**The question: **

**Yuki: -hair stands up on edge- ****wha-that's incred-obviously, it's only like someone such as you to have your abhorrent imagination comparable to _Naked Lunch?_ think up something as foul, incomprehensible, and imaginative as that.That would never happen...!**

**ahem. as for horses, YES. i don't like them, either, so yuki shouldn't. i mean, that stuff they have on their noses, too, sometimes... like, what is that? is it feces? or like, what...**

**_Shannyheartsyou_: is this the update you were looking for?  
**

**AND NOW:**

**(PS. Naked Lunch is a book by William Burroughs. "a disconnected, surreal narrative that involves drugs, a talking asshole, lots of paranoia, more drugs, and carnivorous homosexual creatures called Mugwumps. And drugs. Lots of drugs." as described by flavorwire.)**

**k, i think i mentioned this above, but seirin vs rakuzan still isn't done, so i'll be holding back, or doing filler things. so... yeah. for those looking for development, check back in like a month or two. or fifty years because that's when this goddamn match will END. i mean, really, it's so short in a real game, but over how many weeks for a kuroko game.**

**i still love you for making it fujimaki tadatoshi for making this. don't stop**

**ahem, so i will be seeing you when the next chapter is out**

**whenever that may be.**


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